While explaining the concept of the laboratory, professor Saravanan Kesavan, dean of BITSoM, said that the BRAIN Lab had three core pillars–teaching, research, and outreach. Kesavan said, “It provides MBA (masters in business administration) students a dedicated space equipped with high-performance AI computers capable of handling tasks such as computer vision and large-scale data analysis. Students will not only learn about AI concepts in theory but also experiment with real-world applications.” Kesavan added that each graduating student would be expected to develop an AI product as part of their coursework, giving them first-hand experience in innovation and problem-solving.

The BRAIN lab is also designed to be a hub of collaboration where researchers can conduct projects in partnership with various companies and industries, creating a repository of practical AI tools to use. Kesavan said, “The initial focus areas (of the lab) include manufacturing, healthcare, banking and financial services, and Global Capability Centres (subsidiaries of multinational corporations that perform specialised functions).” He added that the case studies and research from the lab will be made freely available to schools, colleges, researchers, and corporate partners, ensuring that the benefits of the lab reach beyond the BITSoM campus.

BITSoM also plans to use the BRAIN Lab as a launchpad for startups. An AI programme will support entrepreneurs in developing solutions as per their needs while connecting them to venture capital networks in India and Silicon Valley. This will give young companies the chance to refine their ideas with guidance from both academics and industry leaders.

The centre’s physical setup resembles a modern computer lab, with dedicated workspaces, collaborative meeting rooms, and brainstorming zones. It has been designed to encourage creativity, allowing students to visualise how AI works, customise tools for different industries, and allow their technical capabilities to translate into business impacts.

In the context of a global workplace that is embracing AI, Kesavan said, “Future leaders need to understand not just how to manage people but also how to manage a workforce that combines humans and AI agents. Our goal is to ensure every student graduating from BITSoM is equipped with the skills to build AI products and apply them effectively in business.”

Kesavan said that advisors from reputed institutions such as Harvard, Johns Hopkins, the University of Chicago, and industry professionals from global companies will provide guidance to students at the lab. Alongside student training, BITSoM also plans to run reskilling programmes for working professionals, extending its impact beyond the campus.

The use of artificial intelligence to score statewide standardized tests resulted in errors that affected hundreds of exams, the NBC10 Investigators have learned.

The issue with the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) surfaced over the summer, when preliminary results for the exams were distributed to districts.

The state’s testing contractor, Cognia, found roughly 1,400 essays did not receive the correct scores, according to a spokesperson with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

DESE told NBC10 Boston all the essays were rescored, affected districts received notification, and all their data was corrected in August.

So how did humans detect the problem?

We found one example in Lowell. Turns out an alert teacher at Reilly Elementary School was reading through her third-grade students’ essays over the summer. When the instructor looked up the scores some of the students received, something did not add up.

The teacher notified the school principal, who then flagged the issue with district leaders.

“We were on alert that there could be a learning curve with AI,” said Wendy Crocker-Roberge, an assistant superintendent in the Lowell school district.

AI essay scoring works by using human-scored exemplars of what essays at each score point look like, according to DESE.

The AI tool uses that information to score the essays. In addition, humans give 10% of the AI-scored essays a second read and compare their scores with the AI score to make sure there aren’t discrepancies. AI scoring was used for the same amount of essays in 2025 as in 2024, DESE said.

Crocker-Roberge said she decided to read about 1,000 essays in Lowell, but it was tough to pinpoint the exact reason some students did not receive proper credit.

However, it was clear the AI technology was deducting points without justification. For instance, Crocker-Roberge said she noticed that some essays lost a point when they did not use quotation marks when referencing a passage from the reading excerpt.

“We could not understand why an individual score was scored a zero when it should have gotten six out of seven points,” Crocker-Roberge said. “There just wasn’t any rhyme or reason to that.”

District leaders notified DESE about the problem, which resulted in approximately 1,400 essays being rescored. The state agency says the scoring problem was the result of a “temporary technical issue in the process.”

According to DESE, 145 districts were notified that had at least one student essay that was not scored correctly.

“As one way of checking that MCAS scores are accurate, DESE releases preliminary MCAS results to districts and gives them time to report any issues during a discrepancy period each year,” a DESE spokesperson wrote in a statement.

Mary Tamer, the executive director of MassPotential, an organization that advocates for educational improvement, said there are a lot of positives to using AI and returning scores back to school districts faster so appropriate action can be taken. For instance, test results can help identify a child in need of intervention or highlight a lesson plan for a teacher that did not seem to resonate with students.

“I think there’s a lot of benefits that outweigh the risks,” said Tamer. “But again, no system is perfect and that’s true for AI. The work always has to be doublechecked.”

DESE pointed out the affected exams represent a small percentage of the roughly 750,000 MCAS essays statewide.

However, in districts like Lowell, there are certain schools tracked by DESE to ensure progress is being made and performance standards are met.

That’s why Crocker-Roberge said every score counts.

With MCAS results expected to be released to parents in the coming weeks, the assistant superintendent is encouraging other districts to do a deep dive on their student essays to make sure they don’t notice any scoring discrepancies.

“I think we have to always proceed with caution when we’re introducing new tools and techniques,” Crocker-Roberge said. “Artificial intelligence is just a really new learning curve for everyone, so proceed with caution.”

There’s a new major push for AI training in the Bay State, where educators are getting savvier by the second. NBC10 Boston education reporter Lauren Melendez has the full story.