Highlights:

  • Texas A and M University is utilizing NextGenAI resources to spearhead a Generative AI Literacy Initiative, offering hands-on training for responsible AI use in academic settings.
  • As members of the NextGenAI consortium, each institution will harness artificial intelligence to address significant challenges, ranging from transforming healthcare to redefining education.

Recently, OpenAI has launched NextGenAI, a consortium comprising 15 top research institutions committed to leveraging artificial intelligence to drive research advancements and revolutionize education.

OpenAI has initiated the consortium with a USD 50 million investment, offering research grants, computing resources, and API access to empower students, educators, and researchers in pushing the boundaries of knowledge.

The founding members of NextGenAI include Caltech, the California State University system, Duke University, the University of Georgia, Harvard University, Howard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Michigan, the University of Mississippi, The Ohio State University, the University of Oxford, Sciences Po, and Texas A and M University. Additionally, Boston Children’s Hospital and the Boston Public Library are part of the consortium.

As members of the consortium, each institution will employ AI to address significant challenges, ranging from transforming healthcare to redefining education.

The consortium’s initial funding supports projects at The Ohio State University, where researchers are leveraging AI to drive advancements in digital health, advanced therapeutics, and manufacturing. Additionally, AI is being applied to expedite breakthroughs in sectors such as energy, mobility, and agriculture.

Researchers at Harvard University and Boston Children’s Hospital are utilizing OpenAI’s tools and NextGenAI funding to expedite accurate diagnoses for rare diseases and enhance AI alignment with human values in medical decision-making. Concurrently, Duke University is leading metascience research to pinpoint scientific disciplines where AI can deliver the most substantial benefits.

In the educational sphere, Texas A and M University is utilizing NextGenAI resources to spearhead a Generative AI Literacy Initiative, offering hands-on training to promote responsible AI usage in academic environments. Similarly, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is providing its students and faculty with access to OpenAI’s API and computing resources, enabling them to train, fine-tune, and develop innovative AI models. Concurrently, Howard University is integrating AI into its curricula and operational processes, offering students practical experience to prepare them as future leaders.

“The field of AI wouldn’t be where it is today without decades of work in the academic community. Continued collaboration is essential to build AI that benefits everyone. NextGenAI will accelerate research progress and catalyze a new generation of institutions equipped to harness the transformative power of AI,” said Brad Lightcap, Chief Operating officer at OpenAI.

This initiative builds upon OpenAI’s prior educational commitments, notably the launch of ChatGPT Edu in May 2024, which provided universities with campus-wide access to ChatGPT.

ChatGPT in its announcement post said, “NextGenAI is designed to support the scientist searching for a cure, the scholar uncovering new insights and the student mastering AI for the world ahead.”