The Connecticut AI Alliance is a group of 16 academic institutions and six community organizations and nonprofit agencies. The goal, according to Vahid Behzadan, is to drive innovation and create jobs.
"The Connecticut AI Alliance represents a significant milestone in our state's technology landscape," said Behzadan, co-founder of CAIA and assistant professor of computer science and data science at the University of New Haven. "By bringing together our state's academic institutions, industry partners, government agencies, and community organizations, we're creating a collaborative ecosystem that will drive innovation, economic growth, and workforce development in the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence."
The alliance includes almost every four-year college and university in Connecticut: Albertus Magnus College, Charter Oak State College, Connecticut College, Fairfield University, Goodwin University, Mitchell College, Quinnipiac University, Sacred Heart University, Trinity College, University of Bridgeport, University of Connecticut, University of Hartford, University of New Haven, University of Saint Joseph, Wesleyan University and Yale University.
According to a Thursday release announcing the formation of the group, the alliance will focus on five themes: research and development; workforce training; business and industry growth; innovation infrastructure; and community engagement.
The group will be overseen by a board of directors and managed by an as-yet unnamed executive director.
Behzadan, also director of the University of New Haven's Secure and Assured Intelligent Learning lab, was appointed in 2023 by Gov. Ned Lamont to the Connecticut Artificial Intelligence Working Group.
The CAIA's focus follows closely the findings of that working group, as published in their final report, published in February 2024.
"We are early on in this latest technological revolution and it is important that we are intentional in how we approach workforce development and training and retraining opportunities in order to ensure that all citizens have the opportunity to benefit and that we are mindful not to allow for certain populations to be left behind by this latest transformation," the report said.
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