It is increasing investment in Empire AI, which was started last year on the UB campus, allowing for additional computing power and research capacity and more schools to collaborate with and join in on the Empire AI Consortium.
There also will be an increase in AI and AI-related academic programs that are now being offered in nearly all 64 SUNY schools to help prepare students for the next generation workforce.
"Artificial intelligence is a transformative technology and we want to make sure New York is a leader in the field, and particularly a leader in using AI to advance the public good," SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. said. "It's about how AI can help us strengthen the economy and improve people's lives."
Housed at UB, Empire AI is a central hub bringing together researchers from SUNY’s four University Centers — also, Stony Brook, Binghamton and Albany — as well as other leading institutions of higher education across the state, to use AI to solve some of the nation’s most challenging problems.
Projects are already up and running as part of the first phase of the Empire AI computing center, and that includes UB researchers working on a comprehensive solution to characterize and treat diseases.
The original public/private investment into Empire AI was $400 million, and Hochul has added to that in the 2025-26 budget, King said.
Eight SUNY campuses have now launched AI departments and centers, joining the Empire AI Consortium, in areas including health equity, mental health and the environment, King said Wednesday during the State of SUNY address.
SUNY will use a $5 million state investment to advance inclusive AI research and education development and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration between the schools. Their focus will also be on addressing ethical concerns in the use of AI and advancing responsible data use.
As part of the initiative, UB will create the Department of AI and Society, dedicated to education and research on harnessing the power of artificial intelligence for the betterment of society.
Additional SUNY campuses to take part include Downstate Health Sciences University, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Polytechnic Institute and Upstate Medical University.
"We've got tremendous momentum, and UB is certainly leading the way," King said. "UB has a tremendous history in the field ... and faculty members across different disciplines who have been working on AI from its earliest days, so they were incredibly well positioned. Now with this investment in supercomputing capacity, UB will be at the vanguard of universities not just in the United States but around the world in terms of their capacity to do AI research."
SUNY will also launch the Innovative Network Pioneering AI Research and Excellence Center, or INSPIRE, allowing for scaling and advancing AI research and scholarship. It will provide for student internships in AI, new professorships in fields such as computer science, health and medicine and engineering connected to AI. It will also provide help hold the second annual SUNY AI Symposium at UB.
With AI an increasing part of the information landscape for students, SUNY revised its general education framework last year to include AI as part of its core competency for information literacy. Starting in fall 2026, AI literacy will be officially integrated as a core competency at SUNY for all incoming undergraduates.
AI or AI-related curriculum is now being offered on 61 of SUNY’s 64 campuses.
In addition, King announced the launch of the AI for the Public Good Faculty Fellows Program, which will include faculty developing resources and providing support for curricular development across the system on AI literacy and the effective and ethical use of AI.
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