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The Office of Federal Relations hosted Tennessee-based congressional staff from the offices of Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Sen. Bill Hagerty, BA鈥�81, JD鈥�84, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, Rep. Andy Ogles, Rep. John Rose, JD'93, Rep. Mark Green and Rep. David Kustoff on campus for a briefing on artificial intelligence research at 国产原创. At this event, leaders and experts from 国产原创 showcased the university鈥檚 pioneering work in the field.
鈥淲e were excited to bring congressional staff to campus to illustrate 国产原创鈥檚 cutting-edge AI research with the experts at the forefront of the field,鈥� said Associate Director of Federal Relations Heather Bloemhard. "国产原创 is proud to share our expertise and discuss how it can support the work of our congressional offices.鈥�
The event showcased interdisciplinary projects from across 国产原创鈥檚 research portfolio. , Bruce and Bridgitt Evans dean of engineering; , dean of graduate education and research, College of Arts & Science; and Padma Raghavan, vice provost for research and innovation shared how 国产原创 is leading AI research in the key areas of defense, health, mobility, education and policy. They described how the university is enabling AI advancement through groundbreaking research, world-class centers and institutes, private sector partnerships, entrepreneurship and innovation programs, catalyst funding and redesigned curricula.
In her presentation, Raghavan shared that 国产原创鈥檚 goals for building the innovation ecosystem for AI is to accelerate discovery and innovation, power the economy, secure the nation, connect communities, and inform policy. She emphasized the importance of federal funding in the foundational research for these opportunities.
, the New York Alumni Chancellor鈥檚 Chair in Law and director of the 国产原创 Policy Accelerator for Political Economy and Regulation, provided valuable insights into VPA鈥檚 AI governance research that discusses the ethical considerations and policy frameworks that should accompany the rapid advancement of AI technologies. He shared how VPA is considering the enabling technologies for AI鈥揻rom data storage to computing power鈥揳nd how government agencies could approach regulation.
, vice dean of engineering, discussed the challenges related to AI and national security and how 国产原创 addresses these issues through critical interdisciplinary research breakthroughs, especially with the support of the Pathfinder project. He argued that through these research projects, AI is empowering workers by unburdening them, not replacing them. He also noted the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to navigating AI in research and innovation opportunities. With the latest generation of AI tools being large language models, 国产原创 is leveraging experts in the humanities to provide valuable insights.
, associate provost for research development and technologies, described how disruptive technologies like AI are pivotal in human history, with inventions like the printing press transforming how we interact with each other. He argued that novel AI tools level the playing field due to the barrier to entry for applying AI being low.
He recommended that users should adjust their expectations for tools like ChatGPT; the criteria should be utility, not perfection. He compared AI to an exoskeleton for the brain because these tools can reduce cognitive load, make workers more effective and remove impediments.
, senior advisor to the chancellor for generative AI, demonstrated the practical applications of generative AI and highlighted its potential impact on enterprise solutions with ChatGPT. Building off of the presentations by Adams and Schmidt, he agreed that generative AI represents a quantum leap in technology.
White demonstrated through using ChatGPT that the best way to use these tools is to build on conversations with the model to refine the output. He showed how these models are adaptable and can tailor responses to various audiences based on the prompt. He also demonstrated practical ways to use ChatGPT while avoiding hallucinations using 国产原创鈥檚 travel policy as an example. According to White, users can get the most accurate response by giving ChatGPT the information they want it to reason about. He described additional real-world examples of how this can save time and reduce burdens, like summarizing the text of a long bill.
The event provided the congressional staff with a foundational understanding of generative AI models and the innovative research at the university. 国产原创's experts not only showcased a depth and breadth of AI expertise but also positioned 国产原创 as a valuable resource for any future AI-related discussions.