AI Lab at GCSU to educate students, faculty and Middle Georgia

Georgia College & State University is introducing the AI Lab at the J. Whitney Bunting College of Business & Technology. It will prepare students and the public to use this developing technology.

The AI Lab will be a resource for the Central Georgia community with workshops on artificial intelligence, faculty-led research and projects for employers in the area. The lab is currently housed on the fourth floor of Atkinson Hall.

“The emerging technologies inherent to AI will have a fundamental impact on the workplace,” said Georgia College Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Costas Spirou.

“This new lab is an excellent example of the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit central to a public liberal arts education,” Spirou said, “as we adapt and seek out new ways to ensure our students are prepared for the opportunities, challenges and possibilities ahead.”

Led by Dr. Jeannie Pridmore, department chair of Information Systems and Computer Science, and directed by Dr. Ward Risvold, lecturer of business communications, the AI Lab will centralize Georgia College’s efforts to navigate changes brought by the technology.

In his 2018 Strategy on New Technologies report, Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres said technologies like automation, artificial intelligence and robotics “hold incredible promise for human welfare.”

Students will have access to workshops and guidance, allowing them to master the tools of artificial intelligence. It will be a place for faculty too, where they take part in interdisciplinary research and find ways to integrate AI into their teaching.

The School of Continuing and Professional Studies at Georgia College will also leverage its outreach to lead the charge in area schools, helping students understand AI tools. They’ll provide courses for students, community members and local businesses.

“We’re at a crossroads,” Risvold said. “Technologically speaking, this is an industrial revolution of a different kind. Our students, all of them, have to be prepared to be more effective and productive, being able to use AI.”

The AI Lab’s first event is 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7, in the Arts & Sciences Auditorium. The speaker will be Greg Lane, retired senior director for the CIA and one of the lab’s preliminary advisory board members. He will discuss the use of AI and what skill sets employers need in relation to AI.

The preliminary board of advisors also includes:

• Scott Gustlin, CIO Pythonic AI
• Grant Lee, CEO, Founder, Gamma AI
• David Szabo-Stuben, CEO, Founder, Promptmaster
• James Robertson, HPE Aruba, VP, CTO Industry Strategy
• David Fisher, Director of AI, KPMG

“The faculty and I are proud of our shared culture of curricula innovation and our work to reimagine teaching, learning and scholarly pursuits,” said Dr. Micheal Stratton, dean of the College of Business and Technology.

“Employers and citizens demand our students at a public liberal arts university are agile and highly competent with respect to technology,” Stratton said. “It is critical that our students have a competitive advantage as they pursue employment opportunities or further studies.”

For more information about the AI Lab, contact Dr. Ward Risvold at ward.risvold@gcsu.edu.