NextGenAI, a unique consortium involving 15 prominent research institutions, has been launched. Its purpose is to utilize AI for accelerating research breakthroughs and transforming education.
AI possesses the capability to advance research and education, provided individuals have the necessary tools. OpenAI is allocating $50M in research grants, compute funding, and API access to empower students, educators, and researchers in expanding knowledge.
NextGenAI brings together institutions from the U.S. and internationally, aiming to accelerate progress beyond what any single institution could achieve. This initiative seeks to foster future discoveries and equip the next generation to influence AI’s development.
The Next Generation of AI Leaders
NextGenAI’s founding partners are Caltech, the California State University system, Duke University, the University of Georgia, Harvard University, Howard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Michigan, the University of Mississippi, The Ohio State University, the University of Oxford, Sciences Po, Texas A&M University, as well as Boston Children’s Hospital, the Boston Public Library, and OpenAI.
Each participating institution is leveraging AI to address significant challenges, ranging from healthcare innovation to educational reform. Several examples of their pioneering efforts include:
Accelerating the next generation of research breakthroughs
- The Ohio State University is leveraging AI to accelerate the fields of digital health, advanced therapeutics, manufacturing, energy, mobility, and agriculture, while educators are also developing advanced learning models with AI.
- Researchers at Harvard University and Boston Children’s Hospital are utilizing OpenAI tools and NextGenAI funding to shorten diagnostic times for patients, particularly for rare orphan diseases, and to enhance AI alignment with human values in medical decisions.
- Duke University scientists are using AI to pioneer metascience research, identifying the fields of science where AI can have the greatest benefit.
Peter J. Mohler, Executive Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Knowledge at The Ohio State University, stated that the university is at the forefront of a multidisciplinary approach to AI’s benefits, significantly impacting both research and education. He expressed excitement about joining OpenAI and this elite research partnership, which will enable further groundbreaking discoveries and advancements in medicine, manufacturing, computing, and other fields.
Empowering the next generation to be AI-fluent
- Texas A&M is using NextGenAI resources to fuel their Generative AI Literacy Initiative, providing hands-on training to enhance the responsible use of AI in academic settings.
- MIT students and faculty will gain access to OpenAI’s API and compute funding, enabling them to train and fine-tune their own AI models and create new applications.
- Howard University plans to utilize AI for curriculum development, experimenting with new teaching methodologies, enhancing university operations, and providing students with practical AI experience to prepare them for future leadership roles.
Dr. Robert H. Bishop, Vice Chancellor and Dean of the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University, expressed anticipation for collaboration with OpenAI. He noted that OpenAI’s support would empower students, researchers, and the broader academic community with cutting-edge knowledge and skills in the rapidly evolving field of generative artificial intelligence.
Imagining the future of AI-powered universities and libraries
- University of Oxford is leveraging AI for a broad research agenda, education, and university operations—its renowned Bodleian Library is digitizing rare texts and using OpenAI’s API to transcribe them, making centuries-old knowledge newly searchable by scholars worldwide.
- University of Mississippi is exploring new ways to integrate AI into their core mission of education, research, and service, and to advance AI-driven solutions that benefit their students, faculty, and the broader community.
- Boston Public Library, America’s first large free municipal public library, is digitizing public domain materials and using AI to make their information more accessible to patrons from all walks of life.
Anne Trefethen, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Digital, at the University of Oxford, remarked that this new collaboration represents an exciting step forward, offering fresh opportunities to enrich research, expand AI capabilities, and foster skill development. She emphasized that by working together, participants can learn from one another, advancing the frontiers of artificial intelligence, understanding its impact on education, and unlocking its vast potential for the university community and beyond.
Strengthening the Connection Between Academia & Industry
NextGenAI reinforces the vital partnership between academia and industry, ensuring that AI’s benefits extend to laboratories, libraries, hospitals, and classrooms worldwide.
Brad Lightcap, Chief Operating Officer at OpenAI, stated that the field of AI owes its current state to decades of academic work. He stressed that continued collaboration is crucial for building AI that benefits everyone, and that NextGenAI will accelerate research progress and foster a new generation of institutions capable of harnessing AI’s transformative power.
This initiative builds upon OpenAI’s commitment to education, which includes the May 2024 launch of ChatGPT Edu, providing university-wide access to ChatGPT. NextGenAI further supports this by offering institutions OpenAI’s APIs and funding to stimulate crucial innovation.
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.
