Engaging in Pittsburgh's AI Revolution

Standing in a packed auditorium in the U.S. Capitol in early April, Shady Side sophomore Boden Moraski commanded the attention of congressional leaders, tech industry professionals, and other technology-minded students from around the country. “Some debates never die,” Moraski proclaimed. “LeBron versus Jordan. The greatest album of all time. The most influential piece of art. We argue, analyze, and bring out statistics — but can artificial intelligence (AI), with all its computing power, ever settle these debates for us?”

Moraski was one of six students chosen out of a field of 400 to deliver a four-minute lightning talk during the 2025 #HouseofCode event. The multi-day congressional celebration is held in Washington, D.C. for the student winners of the annual Congressional App Challenge, an app-building competition for students run by members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

In his speech, titled “AI, Lebron, and the GOAT Debate: Exploring Artificial Systems’ Role in Subjective Contexts,” Moraski argued that while AI can process vast amounts of data, it lacks the emotions tied to subjectivity. He suggested that as AI continues to proliferate in our personal and professional spaces, builders should embrace a “human-centered AI” model that lets AI act as a “powerful cognitive collaborator” that simply enhances our own knowledgeable perspectives.

Moraski’s speech exemplifies the role Shady Side Academy hopes its students will play in the quickly emerging AI-centered landscape — as critical thinkers, ethical leaders, and inquisitive changemakers. 

“The Academy has continued to thrive in three separate centuries because we have recognized critical moments of change and adapted to meet the needs of emerging realities,” says President Bart Griffith ’93 P’28,’30. “In this moment, future-ready thinking requires a thoughtful focus on AI. It is not an abstract concept or a distant challenge; it’s a reality shaping the world our students are stepping into,” Griffith says.

Shady Side is prepared to equip its students for a new wave of AI growth because the Academy has had its eye turned toward an AI future for many years. In 2018, years before the public rollout of generative AI large language model tools like ChatGPT, Shady Side hosted “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence in Pittsburgh and Beyond,” a panel featuring experts who explored the promise of artificial intelligence and how it would shape business, education, and economics in Pittsburgh and the rest of the world. Moderated by former Trustee Ann Scherlis P’17,’17 panelists included organizer Eben Adams ’89, P’26,’29, Vice President of Enterprise Growth at LegalSifter; Dr. Shiv Rao ’97, former Executive Vice President of UPMC Enterprises; Dr. Tuomas Sandholm P’24,’26, Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU); and Dr. Katerina Fragkiadaki, Assistant Professor of Machine Learning at CMU.

In Pittsburgh, “AI is the new steel,” says Joanna Doven P’30,’31,’36, Executive Director of the AI Strike Team, a two-year initiative bringing together Pittsburgh-based business, technology, education, and government leaders working to unite industry, academia, and government to position Pittsburgh as the premier hub for AI innovation, investment, and job creation.

“Practically every future job will require AI knowledge and use,” Doven says. She believes Pittsburgh is well-positioned to become a leader in the rapidly growing AI economy. The city already has some key players in the AI game. Pittsburgh’s “AI Avenue,” a one-mile stretch of business real estate on Penn Avenue, is bookended by tech giant Google in Bakery Square and language-learning app Duolingo in East Liberty. AI Avenue is home to more than 20 AI companies focusing on solutions for real estate, energy, defense, and more. 

In AI education, Carnegie Mellon University is the number one-ranked undergraduate AI and cybersecurity school in the world, according to “U.S. News & World Report.” The University of Pittsburgh boasts healthcare and life sciences expertise, including revolutionary healthcare-related AI advancements. In the financial sector, BNY was the first major bank to deploy an AI supercomputer to launch new AI capabilities.

“With AI set as the centerpiece of the next industrial revolution, it’s vital for Pittsburgh to ensure it has the infrastructure, capital, and educational resources to support AI development and commercialization so the city can retain top talent and provide job opportunities,” Doven says.

In this AI era, Shady Side has an obligation to help its students understand and utilize AI knowledgeably and ethically, while also positioning itself as a premier primary and secondary school for AI learning and innovation. 

“As Pittsburgh pushes to be a global leader in AI innovation, we have an opportunity — and a responsibility — to help our students engage with this technology thoughtfully, ethically, and creatively,” Griffith says.

Doven commends Shady Side for leveraging the region’s AI experts for education and guidance. In February, Shady Side hosted a groundbreaking faculty professional development day dedicated to exploring AI and its applications in education. The program began with an engaging panel of speakers from diverse industries across Pittsburgh, who shared insights into how AI is transforming the world.

Christopher MacPherson, a Princeton University lecturer and part of the Lovelace AI team; Julia McDowell, Vice President of AI and Enterprise Analytics at Highmark Health; and Steve Wray, Executive Director of the Block Center for Technology and Society at Carnegie Mellon University discussed AI innovations across sectors like healthcare, manufacturing, education, and national security, while acknowledging challenges such as job displacement and ethical dilemmas. They encouraged faculty to consider how tools like generative AI can enhance critical thinking and reshape educational approaches to prepare students for an AI-driven future.

Following the panel, faculty gathered to reflect and collaborate on the challenges and opportunities AI presents at the school. 

“The faculty spent the afternoon thinking critically about how AI fits into our mission, what we are already doing to prepare students for this shift, and how we can ensure they learn to use AI as a tool for inquiry and growth, rather than a substitute for thinking,” Griffith explains. 

Speaking about the event, Senior School Computer Science Teacher Dave Szlachetka P’16,’19 said, “The sessions provided valuable insights into how AI can enhance teaching, learning, and administrative practices across various disciplines.”

The Senior School has offered in-depth AI education for many years. “We’ve had a curricular program in AI at Shady Side since around 2001,” shares Dawson Haytock, Chair of the Senior School Computer Science Department. “We introduced a formal class in AI around 2019 and followed it with an advanced-level course in Machine Learning.”

Before heading to the U.S. Capitol, Moraski completed an independent study last year called “Ethical Alignment and AI Systems,” which allowed him to explore how artificial intelligence systems can be evaluated through the lens of ethical theory. 

But Shady Side’s students aren’t just studying AI — they’re innovating with it. “We have students who are actively expanding their knowledge and experience in the field of artificial intelligence,” says Szlachetka. Unsurprisingly, Moraski is one of them. He and fellow sophomore Roshan Kshirsagar submitted a project to this year’s AI Innovators Challenge. Together, they developed the AI Ethical Compass, a platform for educators and students to explore, share views, and engage with others on common AI ethical dilemmas, specifically in educational contexts.

Junior Annika Sandholm has spent the past two years conducting AI research experiments outside of her school work under the umbrella of social connection. In 2024, she received a Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science first place award and an honorable mention at the Pittsburgh Regional Science & Engineering Fair (PRSEF) for her project, “Culturally Expansive AI Music Recommender System.” The project used AI to create a music recommendation system that could offer culturally expansive suggestions from parts of the world far away from the listener’s location. Then in 2025, Sandholm received a PRSEF scholarship award for her project “AI Detecting Humor Based on Predicting Acoustic Signals,” a neural network built to recognize humor based on acoustic speech signals and help comedians with their yearning to tell funny jokes. (See “Learning and Leading in AI.”)

“During the pandemic, everyone experienced isolation. With these projects, I wanted to learn how to use AI to help people find human connection in new ways,” Sandholm says. 

For students like Sandholm, Moraski, and Kshirsagar — who are deeply engaged in computer science — AI is a natural area of focus. But at Shady Side, the belief is that every student stands to gain from a stronger grasp of AI and its growing influence across industries. Faculty actively encourage all students to explore the topic with curiosity and a critical lens.

At the beginning of the school year, Sandholm approached former Head of Senior School Trixie Sabundayo with some thoughts and questions about how AI could be utilized in an educational environment. Sabundayo encouraged Sandholm to consider distilling her thoughts into a presentation to share at a school-wide assembly. Sandholm accepted the challenge and presented “AI for Social Connection” to her peers, detailing her prize-winning AI projects to help unmask the power of AI for students. “I wanted to teach my fellow students that we can learn how to build AI, not just use it, and that AI can be used for good,” Sandholm says.

Sabundayo says faculty conscientiously learn about the AI tools their students use, and work with them to develop and revise classroom policies for AI use that support Shady Side’s learning standards. 

“We’re rigorous about creating really deep, expansive thinkers,” Sabundayo says. “Our job is to get our graduates to think critically about these tools and to use them in ethical, smart ways.”

The foundation, however, is laid even earlier — Shady Side’s approach to responsible AI use begins in the Middle School. “We look for ways AI can be a sidecar to learning rather than supplant learning entirely,” Middle School Computer Science Teacher Tim McGuigan P’28,’32 says. 

Last year, the Middle School English faculty introduced students to TrueMark.ai. This teacher-controlled, AI-empowered writing platform helps students refine their writing by asking probing questions and providing feedback, much like a teacher would. President Griffith recalls watching his son using TrueMark.ai while working on an essay at home. “As he worked, the AI platform only reinforced what I’d previously sensed but not seen manifest with students until that moment — that with great intention and careful curation, AI might emerge as yet another thought partner for our students, sharpening cognition and improving the quality of their process and work,” he says.

In May, 17 Senior School students had the opportunity to wrestle with AI’s rapid evolution and how it will affect the human experience going forward through an Immersive titled, AI Revolution: Shaping the Future of Society. Adams and Senior School English Teacher J.A. MacDougall worked together to lead the course, and challenged students to think on a deep level. “What does the rapid evolution of AI mean not just for them as high school students, but within communities around the entire world,” MacDougall queries. (See “What If School Looked More Like the Real World?”) 

Importantly, the Immersive provided more connection points between Shady Side Academy and the AI-invested Pittsburgh community. “Through the Immersive course, we brought community members —including a CMU professor, a University of Pittsburgh researcher, and a venture capitalist — to Shady Side to see the amazing campus and its students, and allowed the students to interact with the broader community beyond campus,” Adams says. “Engaging with the community in this way distinguishes Shady Side as a Pittsburgh institution that can provide a runway to achieve in an AI-centered economy.”

No matter what changes the future holds, Shady Side leaders recognize that the Academy’s focus on thinking expansively, acting ethically, and leading responsibly will prepare students to meet the challenges of an ever-changing professional landscape. 

“We are creating leaders who are equipped to apply the skills of thinking critically, communicating clearly, and understanding our collective responsibility to our community,” Sabundayo says.

“With its culture of open-mindedness, awareness, creativity, and critical thinking, Shady Side Academy is positioned to play an important role in making Pittsburgh a major player in AI,” Adams says.