The Vision for University Wide AI
A Vision That Can Serve All
Teaching and Learning
Use AI to develop new curricula, create tailored assignments, and design inventive project-based programs. AI as an intelligent tutor, providing flexible learning options and interactive discovery that cater to diverse learning needs.
Student Experience
AI can help you design your day, your course path, your health plan, your schedule for adventure. Bring your own data, ideate and experiment with your thoughts for products, research, and creation. Use AI to help you launch your world-changing ideas into the world.
Operations
The university is using AI to improve efficiency and service delivery in HR, IT, and facilities management by automating workflows, enhancing call center support, optimizing power distribution, and improving recruitment. The goal is to simplify processes, reduce manual work, and boost productivity.
Research
AI helps speed up research by generating hypotheses, providing data insights, automating tasks, and retrieving knowledge. It can also analyze research to find new ideas, match grants, draft proposals, and automate grant information.
Eight Core Enabling Mechanisms for UT.AI
1. Enterprise AI Platform & Copilot
The AI platform and Copilot for Microsoft 365 both utilize AI but serve different purposes. The AI platform provides scalable tools, such as an LLM platform, for creating customizable AI solutions and streamlining processes across UT. In contrast, Copilot for M365 is an AI assistant embedded in Microsoft apps like Word, Excel, Teams, and Outlook, focusing on boosting productivity by simplifying tasks and providing real-time insights.
2. Innovation and Ideation
This mechanism aims to foster a vibrant, university-wide AI innovation community. Key activities will include encouraging collaboration between different Colleges, Schools, and Units (CSUs), breaking down silos to facilitate knowledge and resource sharing, and promoting a culture of creative exploration and experimentation with AI. This approach will help build a cohesive and dynamic AI ecosystem across the university.
3. Governance
This mechanism aims to create a framework for responsible and ethical AI development and implementation. The framework will balance the need for guidance and oversight with fostering innovation, address ethical considerations like data privacy, bias, and transparency, and be adaptable to meet the distinct needs and goals of different CSUs. Additionally, it will establish clear policies and standards for AI development and use.
4. Leadership
Strong leadership is essential for advancing UT's AI strategy. Our roadmap highlights the importance of a diverse leadership group to oversee and prioritize AI initiatives, articulate a clear vision for AI at UT, set strategic goals, allocate resources, and champion the responsible and ethical use of AI. This approach ensures that our AI efforts are aligned with our values and strategic objectives.
5. Operationalization
This approach aims to translate AI strategy into tangible outcomes by implementing AI solutions at scale. Key activities include developing tools, infrastructure, and processes to support the entire AI lifecycle, ensuring that AI solutions are scalable, sustainable, and integrated into existing workflows, and potentially creating a centralized "AI Hub" to provide access to resources and best practices. This will help embed AI into the fabric of the organization, driving innovation and efficiency.
6. Data and Architecture
Highlighting the critical role of data in AI, this approach focuses on building a robust data infrastructure. This includes creating a centralized data repository to break down data silos and enable efficient data access and management, ensuring data quality, integrity, and security, and developing a data architecture to support AI objectives, including data governance policies and data pipelines. This will ensure that data is effectively leveraged to drive AI initiatives.
7. Support and Advisory
Recognizing that successful AI adoption requires ongoing support, this approach involves providing specialized resources to guide and assist individuals and departments. Key activities include deploying business and engineering resources to assess ideas, evaluate feasibility, and model solutions, providing tailored support based on specific project needs, offering technical guidance, troubleshooting support, and training on AI tools and platforms, and providing advisory services to address ethical concerns, data privacy, and other relevant policies. This ensures comprehensive support for effective AI implementation.
8. Activation
This approach centers on empowering the UT community to engage with AI in a responsible and informed manner. Key activities include increasing AI literacy through educational initiatives, training programs, and workshops, promoting a culture of AI adoption by highlighting AI benefits and showcasing successful implementations, and creating a sense of agency by providing access to resources and support networks. This will ensure that the community is well-equipped to leverage AI effectively and ethically.
A Closer Look at the Governance
How will the University adopt artificial intelligence?
The AI governance provides clear guidelines and best practices to ensure our artificial intelligence initiatives remain strategic, responsible, and coordinated. This structure helps us invest in impactful, enterprise-wide projects while managing risks and aligning with our core values.
Strategic: We prioritize AI projects that drive meaningful impact and advance key objectives through strategic imperatives and portfolio stewardship.
Responsible: Ethical principles, standards, and risk management guide our use of AI to ensure accountability and mitigate potential risks.
Coordinated: We promote efficient and effective AI development and adoption across the application lifecycle.
To enable success, we provide programs, tools, and resources to encourage optimal AI adoption and empower local teams to address opportunities across the University. This governance ensures AI is implemented thoughtfully, creating value for our students, faculty, and staff.
Understanding the Roles of the AI Platform & Copilot
AI Platform
The AI platform offers a range of powerful features to enhance your business operations. You can access customizable AI models, leveraging pre-built options or training your own to meet your specific needs. Integration is made easy, allowing you to embed AI capabilities into your existing systems and workflows with minimal effort. Additionally, the platform provides end-to-end support, including tools and expertise for data preparation, monitoring, and optimization. Whether you're automating processes, enhancing decision-making, or delivering personalized customer experiences, the AI platform empowers your team to innovate more efficiently.
Copilot for Microsoft 365
Empower your organization with Copilot for M365, an AI-powered assistant designed to enhance productivity and collaboration across your favorite Microsoft tools. Embedded within apps like Word, Excel, Teams, and Outlook, Copilot delivers intelligent assistance to simplify complex tasks, streamline workflows, and provide real-time actionable insights. By leveraging advanced AI capabilities, Copilot helps users create, analyze, and communicate more efficiently, making everyday tasks easier and more intuitive.
UT.AI Studio & Academy
UT.AI Studio
The Studio is designed to support full-time staff in continuing their education and expanding their understanding of AI technologies. This program provides opportunities for staff to learn, document, and assist in deploying custom GPT tools within administrative and academic areas. By fostering hands-on experience, the Studio empowers staff to drive AI adoption, streamline processes, and contribute to meaningful innovation across the university. Through this initiative, staff can grow their skills while playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of AI integration at UT.
UT.AI Academy
The Academy is a transformative program designed to equip student employees with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in the rapidly evolving job market. By providing specialized training in AI and emerging technologies, the academy focuses on growing students’ expertise, preparing them to build and implement cutting-edge solutions. Participants will gain hands-on experience that not only enhances their professional development but also differentiates them in competitive career landscapes. UT.AI Academy is committed to empowering students with the tools, skills, and confidence to thrive in AI-driven industries and beyond.