The funding supports 113 AI initiatives across the system through a one-year AI innovation fund, part of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s effort to position New York as a leader in AI, according to a recent news release.
The funded projects will fall into four main areas: student and academic support, courses, ethical and social implications, and literacy.
“These projects will transform our campuses into laboratories of AI exploration, empowering our community to pursue practical, responsible uses for AI,” CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez said in a public statement.
Some initiatives are focused on expanding access to premium AI tools through online portals and licenses for staff, some seek to build AI to help student campus resources, and other projects bring AI directly into coursework.
At Borough of Manhattan Community College, for example, AI will be integrated into an introductory computing course taken by thousands of students each year. Faculty fellows will develop course materials and support colleagues in incorporating AI into their teaching across the college.
Similarly, Hostos Community College will include AI instruction in its first-year seminar, aiming to ensure incoming students are introduced to responsible use of the technology.
Several other colleges are introducing microcredential programs teaching AI applications to certain focus areas, including workplace skills, health sciences and social work.
Some colleges are bringing AI to the non-academic aspects of student success.
At Brooklyn College, for example, automated systems will analyze usage and staffing data, forecast demand and optimize inventory to reduce waste. The goal is to address food insecurity, which can be a barrier to student success, according to the news release.
Another student success initiative at CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy will create an AI-powered navigator to help students find mental health resources, legal support and health insurance through a centralized hub.
On a broader scale, the funding will also support projects examining social impacts of AI. LaGuardia Community College will provide education on AI use in incarceration settings, to process legal and correspondence requests sent by mail.
These efforts build on a broader push across the CUNY system, including the launch of a new AI Lab at the CUNY Graduate Center, also supported by investments from Gov. Hochul, and more than 200 AI-related initiatives already underway.
