NY State Budget Allots $75M for AI at University at Albany - GovTech
2022-04-12 19:26 (EST) -
(TNS) — The University at Albany's $200 million artificial intelligence initiative is taking off, funded with $75 million from the state's new $220 billion budget. UAlbany President Havidán Rodríguez said the money for what UAlbany calls its Albany AI Supercomputing Initiative, or Albany AI, will be "transformational" to the university as well as the Capital Region economy. "UAlbany is uniquely positioned to leverage this computing power to tackle some of society's biggest challenges, from post-pandemic health data analytics to K-12 education, robotic surgery, predicting severe weather associated with climate change and developing AI systems worthy of human trust," Rodríguez said in a statement. The Times Union recently wrote about the Albany AI Supercomputing Initiative and the efforts of UAlbany's new director of research and economic development Thenkurussi "Kesh" Kesavadas to make it happen. The $200 million project would include creating a supercomputing center and adding AI, or artificial intelligence, to the curriculum of even first-year students. In his statement, Rodríguez praised Gov. Kathy Hochul and local members of the state Legislature for passing the budget that included the $75 million. He also said that the AI initiative would benefit from Hochul's plan to take SUNY Polytechnic Institute's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and put it back under UAlbany where it was started. CNSE, as the college is known, is involved in teaching computer chip manufacturing. Next-generation chips and supercomputers are what's needed to power the AI revolution in which devices take the place of humans in gathering data and making decisions based on that data. "Together with Albany AI, the proposed reunification of UAlbany and the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering will propel upstate New York to the forefront of next-generation chip design," Rodríguez said.
