Discover trends and innovations in AI technology for software development
The MIT AI in Software Engineering Forum is an exclusive event for MIT Industrial Liaison Program (ILP) members and select guests. This forum offers a unique opportunity to explore the transformative role of AI and machine learning in software development. It will bring together software engineering leaders from top global organizations for a day of cutting-edge insights, innovation, and networking.
The forum will feature presentations by renowned MIT faculty, covering key areas such as requirements analysis, code generation, security, testing, lifecycle management, and more. Attendees will also have the opportunity to engage with MIT-connected startups from the MIT Startup Exchange program, showcasing breakthrough solutions designed to enhance software engineering quality and productivity.
Held the day after MIT’s flagship spring AI conference, this forum provides an exclusive platform to discover pioneering technologies, connect with industry peers, and gain actionable insights to address today’s software engineering challenges.
IMPORTANT: If your company is a member of the MIT Industrial Liaison Program (ILP), contact your program director for complementary access.
NOTE: Forum attendees will be automatically registered for the MIT Startup Exchange Live Demo Day, taking place in the afternoon.
Before MIT, Jim was the assistant dean of research business development at the UMass Amherst College of Information and Computer Sciences. Jim founded, built, and sold multiple technology companies in fintech and online media. He has bootstrapped startups and closed venture capital, angel, and private equity funding rounds. Jim also served as the Chief Operating Officer of a public company and a subsidiary of Pitney Bowes. He began his career at AT&T as a software developer, hardware engineer, and national account manager. Jim has authored patents and wrote one of the first books on Java programming. Out of all the roles he's held, Jim's favorite job title by far is dedicated dad of four. He earned a BS from Manhattan College and an MBA with concentrations in finance and international business from New York University.
Distinguished Professor of Computing, MIT Schwarzman College of Computing Professor, MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) Associate Director and COO, MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)
Professor Armando Solar-Lezama, who is an Associate Director and the COO of MIT CSAIL and leads the Computer-Aided Programming Group, aims to reduce the skill and effort required to develop software that is secure, reliable, and efficient. One of his research group’s central contributions to this goal is the development of new approaches to software synthesis that can combine information from different sources to produce the code that the programmer wants. The group’s research ranges from the design of new analysis techniques and automated reasoning mechanisms to the development of new programming models that automate challenging aspects of programming.
Prof. Armando Solar-Lezama, a leading expert in program synthesis and software systems, will delve into the key transformative effects of AI on software engineering, from automating code generation to optimizing complex systems. Drawing on cutting-edge research and real-world applications, this talk will highlight the current capabilities, challenges, and future potential of AI-driven tools and techniques in revolutionizing how software is designed, developed, and maintained. Attendees will gain insights into how these innovations are reshaping the industry and what lies ahead.
Professor of Computer Science, MIT Associate Director, MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)
Daniel Jackson is a professor of computer science at MIT and associate director of CSAIL. For his research in software, he won the ACM SIGSOFT Impact Award, and the ACM SIGSOFT Outstanding Research Award and was made an ACM Fellow.
He is the lead designer of the Alloy modeling language and author of Software Abstractions. He chaired a National Academies study on software dependability and has collaborated on software projects with NASA on air-traffic control, with Massachusetts General Hospital on proton therapy, and with Toyota on autonomous cars.
His most recent book, Essence of Software, offers a fresh approach to software design and shows how thinking about software in terms of concepts and their relationships can lead to more usable and effective software.
According to GitHub, programmers using Copilot, its AI-based code assistant, are now generating half their code with it. But look more carefully, and it turns out that almost all the code being generated is small fragments, often single functions. How might we use AI to generate entire apps? Prof. Daniel Jackson, a renowned authority on software modeling and design, will explain how success with AI in software development will depend on having radically modular structure in our apps. He’ll describe a new kind of modularity (called concept design) and show how it can lead to better development processes and better software, whether built by humans or bots.
Arthur J. Conner (1888) Professor, MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS)
Adam's background is in programming languages and formal methods. He is interested in developing simpler and more effective abstractions for building correct, secure, and performant systems -- usually taking advantage of machine-checked mathematical proofs somehow. His work applies ideas like object-capability systems, proof-carrying code, transactions, type systems, and whole-program optimizing compilers for high-level languages; with applications in computer architecture, cryptography, databases, and operating systems, including novel designs that span traditional layers.
Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) are evolving with AI, becoming smarter and more intuitive to empower developers. In this talk, Prof. Adam Chlipala, an expert in formal methods and programming languages, will explore how AI is enhancing IDE capabilities—from intelligent code assistance and error detection to advanced refactoring and debugging tools. Highlighting the intersection of AI and programming environments, Prof. Chlipala will discuss breakthroughs, practical applications, and the road ahead for AI-driven software development workflows.
Assistant Group Leader of AI Technology, MIT Lincoln Lab
Diane Staheli is an assistant group leader of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology Group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory where she leads efforts related to human-centered AI. Her interest areas include human-AI interaction, explainable AI, decision science, autonomy, socio-technical systems, and user-centered design. Staheli has worked within multiple groups and mission areas across the Laboratory and has led research in diverse areas such as cyber security, intelligence, influence operations, and serious gaming. She is involved externally with the government and academic research communities related to visualization and human factors, including the IEEE Visualization Conference and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.
Prior to joining the Laboratory, Staheli worked in industry for 12 years at a variety of technology companies, ranging from a home networking startup to a global cyber security company. She holds an MA degree in software engineering from Harvard University and an MS degree in human factors from Bentley University.
This session will discuss using machine learning and AI to detect vulnerabilities, strengthen software security, and respond to emerging threats in real-time.
AI is revolutionizing software testing and lifecycle management, streamlining processes and improving reliability. In this talk, Prof. TBD., a pioneer in machine learning and AI-driven systems, will delve into how AI is transforming testing methodologies, defect prediction, and maintenance workflows. Drawing from his extensive research, he will showcase innovative tools and techniques that leverage AI to enhance software quality, reduce costs, and accelerate development cycles, paving the way for a more efficient software engineering ecosystem.
Director, IBM Research Cambridge
Dr. Lisa Amini is the Director of IBM Research Cambridge, which is home to the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, and of IBM's AI Horizons Network. She also leads IBM's AI Automation and Scaling Research efforts globally and is an IBM Distinguished Engineer.
Lisa was previously Director of Knowledge & Reasoning Research in the Cognitive Computing group at IBM’s TJ Watson Research Center in New York. She was also the founding Director of IBM Research Ireland, and the first woman Lab Director for an IBM Research Global (i.e., non-US) Lab (2010-2013). In this role she developed the strategy and led researchers in advancing science and technology for intelligent urban and environmental systems (Smarter Cities), with a focus on creating analytics, optimizations, and systems for sustainable energy, constrained resources (e.g., urban water management), transportation, and the linked open data systems that assimilate and share data and models for these domains.
Previously, Lisa was Senior Manager of the Exploratory Stream Processing Research Group at the IBM TJ Watson Research Center. She was the founding Chief Architect for IBM's InfoSphere Streams product. The Streams product is the result of a Research technology, System S, for which Lisa was also architectural lead from inception. Streams is a software platform for continuous, high throughput, and low latency mining of intelligence from massive amounts of sensor and other machine generated data. She also led her team in formative Smarter Planet/Cities pilots analyzing real-time data for cyber security, manufacturing, telecom, market data analysis, radio astronomy, environmental (water) monitoring, and transportation.
Lisa has served on program committees, hosted panels, and presented keynotes and publications in numerous IEEE, ACM and other conferences and workshops. She has worked at IBM the areas of AI and Cognitive Computing, Smarter Cities, Stream Processing, Distributed and high performance systems, Content Distribution, Multimedia, and Networking for over 25 years. She earned her PhD degree in Computer Science from Columbia University.
Director of Data Science, Humana
Senior Director, Industrial Robotics & Vision, Symbotic
Leaders from the industry will share their experiences leveraging AI to transform software engineering practices. This panel will explore how AI is being applied to tackle real-world challenges, from automating development workflows to enhancing system reliability and scalability. Featuring insights from IBM, Humana, and other top innovators, the discussion will provide a deep dive into the successes, lessons learned, and emerging trends shaping the future of AI-powered software engineering. Attendees will gain valuable perspectives on the practical applications and strategic considerations of integrating AI into their development processes.