Jason Mars

|birth_place=US | spouse=Lingjia Tang |death_date= |death_place= |fields=Computer Science |workplaces=University of Michigan |alma_mater=University of Virginia
University of Pittsburgh |doctoral_advisor=Mary Lou Soffa |doctoral_students= |known_for=computer architecture and artificial intelligence |website= |awards=CARAH Vanguard Award by the Institute of Caribbean Studies (2021) Bank Innovations #2 Most Innovative CEO in Banking (2017)
Crain’s Detroit Business’ 40 under 40 (2019) }}

Jason O. Mars (Born May 27, 1983) is an American computer scientist, author, and entrepreneur. He is best known for his research into computer architecture and artificial intelligence, particularly in the design and deployment of conversational AI. The best-selling author of Breaking Bots: Inventing a New Voice in the AI Revolution, he has been involved in multiple AI initiatives and startups over the course of his career, including ZeroShotBot, Jaseci, Clinc, Myca, and ImpactfulAI.

Mars holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Virginia(UVA), and is currently employed as an Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan(U-M). He is also acting co-director of U-M's Clarity Lab alongside his wife, Professor Lingjia Tang. There, Mars helps direct advanced research within artificial intelligence, large-scale computing, and coding. Among the lab's most notable projects is the open source Sirius, later rebranded as Lucida.

A virtual assistant capable of understanding both visual and auditory queries, Lucida was intended by Mars and his colleagues as a sandbox that would help programmers explore the complexities of speech recognition. Mars also hoped that it would act as a foundation for the development of hardware better-suited for conversational AI. The project was supported by Google, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the National Science Foundation.

Jason Mars was one of ten individuals celebrated at the 28th Annual Caribbean American Heritage (CARAH) Awards. Mars received the Vanguard Award from the Institute of Caribbean Studies for his technological impact and "contributions to America and the world." Other winners include Pfizer Principal Scientist for Viral Vaccines Vidia Roopchand and Grammy-winning songwriter Gordon Chambers. Past honorees of the CARAH Awards include former United States Attorney General Eric Holder, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young and Olympian Usain Bolt. Provided by Wikipedia