Project Grant 2629707

The National Science Foundation Division of Information and Intelligent Systems awarded Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University $299,538 on September 1, 2026, under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering program (CFDA 47.070) to investigate and demonstrate computational transparency approaches for understanding AI systems.

The recipient will investigate, design, implement, analyze, and demonstrate the FEYENMAN cluster—a 30-node computing system that combines motion, light, and sound to visualize the hidden parallel and distributed computation underlying modern AI systems. Through a series of interactive experiments, the team will evaluate whether making AI computation visible improves understanding of how AI systems generate outputs and why they exhibit particular capabilities and limitations. The project emphasizes active participation, visibility into otherwise hidden computational processes, and mental-model development, consistent with findings from science communication, informal learning, and AI-literacy research. The underlying investigation addresses whether computational transparency can foster a more informed public dialogue about AI and its role in society, given that individuals primarily experience AI outputs without insight into inference and training processes, probabilistic reasoning, agentic tools, and other mechanisms requiring vast parallel and distributed computation.

Performance occurs in Blacksburg, Virginia, with a period of performance from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2028. The assistance type is a Project Grant.