UB potential site for Hochul’s proposed AI consortium

President Satish K. Tripathi thanked Gov. Kathy Hochul for proposing a statewide tech consortium, to be called Empire AI, for research and innovation in artificial intelligence and data science, a significant step toward putting New York State at the forefront of the AI evolution.

A SUNY flagship with a robust cyberinfrastructure, UB is under consideration as a potential site for Empire AI, according to a news release issued Monday by the governor.

UB has more than 200 faculty members already working on numerous foundational and use-inspired AI projects. It is ready to leverage its supercomputing infrastructure to create AI and data science solutions for our state’s and world’s most challenging problems.

“UB has been known nationally and internationally as a leader in AI and data science for over four decades. I want to thank Gov. Hochul for her vision to ensure that New York State will be recognized as the center of AI research and innovation today and for decades to come,” Tripathi said.

The governor, prior to her State of the State address on Tuesday, announced her intention to create Empire AI to serve as a consortium of New York State research universities that would help fundamentally change the AI landscape, accelerate research and innovation, and create sustained economic impact across the state. 

Hochul envisions the tech hub as a premier center where public and private research institutions alike can together leverage the vast possibilities of artificial intelligence to solve a spectrum of societal problems — whether in medicine, education, finance, social justice, sustainable technologies or entrepreneurship.

Empire AI would not only help accelerate critical research and innovation, but serve as a reliable, trustworthy source of information as AI technologies continue to evolve.

UB is recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in AI and data science:

• UB is top among all New York universities and colleges in receiving support from the National Science Foundation’s Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure, the federal government’s primary vehicle for establishing state-of-the-art computing infrastructure at U.S. colleges and universities.
• Last year, UB was awarded a highly competitive, five-year, $20 million grant from the NSF and the Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education to establish the National AI Institute for Exceptional Education. The institute is developing artificial intelligence systems to diagnose and treat young children with speech and language processing challenges.
• Scientists conduct groundbreaking research at UB's Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science and its Center for Information Integrity, which recently was awarded a $5.75 million grant from the NSF to help older adults spot online scams and disinformation.
• Other current AI-related research projects at UB include using AI to treat brain aneurysms; spot Type 2 diabetes trends; help first responders during natural disasters; modernize manufacturing systems; predict disease progression during aging; and develop new materials for space applications, from satellite sensors to cosmic radiation shields.