‘Go-to resource for everything AI in Nebraska’: AI launch | News
‘Go-to resource for everything AI in Nebraska’: AI launch | News
Publish Date: 2026-03-13 01:00:00
Source Domain: www.dailynebraskan.com
As artificial intelligence rapidly grows and becomes more prominent, the University of Nebraska System is launching a new institute to help students, faculty and staff better understand and shape the future of AI.
The AI Institute is a “ground-up initiative” that will help guide and amplify faculty, staff and student efforts with AI research, education and engagement, according to Adrian Wisnicki, co-director of the University of Nebraska AI Institute.
“We want this institute to be a go-to resource for everything AI in Nebraska,” said Santosh Pitla, the other co-director of the AI Institute.
The institute does not yet have a physical place, but the plan is for every NU campus to eventually establish either a center or a collective of people that serve as this resource.
“Our goal is to make a really positive contribution to the University of Nebraska community plus the surrounding communities,” Wisnicki said.
The funding for the institute comes from a $250,000 commitment from Google for the University of Nebraska’s overall AI efforts. Research within the AI Institute will be funded by the Nebraska Research Initiative.
The co-directors will seek additional funding from the AI and tech industries and the government.
“With any kind of funding that we get, a key priority for us will be the well-being of the university,” Wisnicki said.
“For us, it is very important that we stay true to our mission of academic truth, pursuing academic freedom, not having our research shaped by any other kinds of interests,” he added.
David Jackson, interim executive vice president and provost of the University of Nebraska, encouraged some kind of AI presence across the campuses, according to Wisnicki. About a year and a half ago, Jackson convened an AI task force made up of multidisciplinary faculty from each campus.
Jackson selected…
