June 15, 2025
In response to Dr. Denise Gregory Jones, JSU’s interim president, the grant represents a step ahead of their makes an attempt to serve college students and the broader Jackson group.
As a part of Mississippi’s $9.1 million funding in greater schooling to strengthen the state’s future workforce and financial competitiveness, Jackson State College has been awarded a $1.3 million grant to develop schooling, workforce improvement, and entrepreneurship in synthetic intelligence. The funding comes by means of Gov. Tate Reeves’ newly launched Mississippi Synthetic Intelligence Expertise Accelerator Program (MAI-TAP).
In response to Dr. Denise Gregory Jones, JSU’s interim president, the grant represents a step ahead of their makes an attempt to serve college students on the college and the broader Jackson group. “We’re grateful for this funding in Jackson State College’s mission to develop entry to rising fields,” Jones Gregory stated within the press launch. “This grant affirms the standard of our college and packages and permits us to offer college students the data and expertise to navigate and contribute to the world they’re coming into. It’s one other step ahead in our work to serve college students and communities by means of innovation and alternative.”
Likewise, Dr. Almesha L. Campbell, the vp for analysis and financial improvement, praised the funding into the college in her personal assertion.
“We’re excited to guide this initiative that can empower Mississippi college students, lecturers and entrepreneurs to interact in significant studying experiences round synthetic intelligence,” Campbell stated. “This mission helps our strategic deal with innovation, workforce improvement and tutorial prominence. By means of this grant, Jackson State will collaborate with companions to construct a mannequin that prepares learners at each stage to know, apply and form the way forward for AI.”
In response to the press launch, Mississippi’s technique for its AI improvement facilities round 5 fundamental rules: funding in human capital infrastructure, constructing AI and machine studying literacy for residents of Mississippi, enhancing and upskilling abilities for people who find themselves creating new instruments and applied sciences, and supporting AI/machine studying innovation and expertise development.
In response to Motion Information 5, Reeves beforehand signed an govt order in January aimed toward harnessing AI in Mississippi and issued a press release declaring his intentions that Mississippi emerge as a pacesetter within the subject of synthetic intelligence.
Regardless of these actions, nonetheless, as Jason Ludwig argued in a 2024 op-ed for Public Books that elements of this platform, significantly the deal with upskilling, can put Black individuals and different working-class individuals in a race in opposition to one another to study new abilities, when as a substitute individuals ought to demand that any new technological improvements be used for the good thing about society at massive and never the cottage industries spawned by improvements created for the good thing about capitalism.
Mississippi has been centered on making a process power for synthetic intelligence which might partially, advance AI initiatives with out “crimson tape” which often means with none significant regulation of synthetic intelligence.
In an op-ed for Supertalk FM, Rep. Jill Ford stated little about ensuring the state’s AI initiatives would safeguard residents by means of laws, however appeared disinterested within the thought altogether, as a substitute arguing that the state wants progress, funding and insurance policies that strengthen Mississippi’s economic system, greater than AI wants regulation.
As Brookings senior fellow Darrell M. West succinctly identified, ignoring the necessity for vital AI regulation doesn’t imply it doesn’t have to occur, significantly given the penchant for present AI programs to strengthen racist attitudes or simply make up false and deceptive content material.
“None of those points will disappear just because the present political management or Huge Tech CEOs say they don’t seem to be a priority. Ignoring widespread public doubts and documented abuses doesn’t make the issues go away. Magic could also be entertaining on stage, however disappearing acts don’t work in actual life,” West wrote.
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