UB student Holliday Sims uses AI for social good

UB senior computer science student Holliday Sims was profiled in a front page article Sunday in The Buffalo News. It notes that Gov. Kathy Hochul lauded Sims last month in Albany during her State of the State address as an example of a young scholar who is using artificial intelligence “for the public good.” At UB, Sims has used AI to research how the child welfare system can better prepare youths in foster care for college and employment. Sims, who also met SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr., was introduced again by Hochul weeks later at UB when the governor announced UB would be the home of a proposed $400 million consortium called Empire AI to lead artificial intelligence research and development in the state. “There have been a lot of people reaching out, and it feels like a dream and a blessing to me and my family,” Sims said. The article notes her mentors at UB, including Kemper Lewis, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Kenny Joseph, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.