{"id":3852,"date":"2026-04-13T09:20:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T09:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/3852\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T09:20:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T09:20:13","slug":"opinion-ut-leads-tennessees-artificial-intelligence-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/3852\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: UT leads Tennessee’s artificial intelligence future"},"content":{"rendered":"

Randy Boyd
\n\u00a0|\u00a0 Guest columnist<\/p>\n

\"play\"<\/p>\n

The future of artificial intelligence at the University of Tennessee<\/p>\n

Ozlem Kilic, the dean of the College of Emerging and Collaborative Studies at the University of Tennessee, speaks about the future of artificial intelligence coursework at the Knoxville campus.<\/p>\n

Is the University of Tennessee System doing enough around artificial intelligence (AI)? I get that question a lot. The question isn\u2019t whether Tennessee will be affected by AI. It\u2019s whether we will lead.<\/p>\n

The answer is yes.<\/p>\n

I graduated from UT Knoxville in 1979, the same year Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) launched the Oak Ridge Applied Artificial Intelligence Project, a first of its kind. AI isn\u2019t new in Tennessee. It\u2019s part of our foundation.<\/p>\n

We continue to build on that groundwork today. ORNL launched Frontier in 2022 as the fastest computer in the world, and it continues to power cutting-edge, AI-driven research. ORNL continues to tackle one of AI\u2019s biggest challenges: the enormous energy it requires. Through the Department of Energy\u2019s Genesis<\/a> Mission, ORNL connects supercomputers, labs, AI and data to accelerate research in the United States.<\/p>\n

University of Tennessee students gain AI knowledge, skills<\/p>\n

Across our campuses and institutes<\/a>, we ensure students are ready<\/a> for an AI-driven world. Through its AI Tennessee<\/a> initiative, UT Knoxville embeds AI across colleges and curricula while also launching AI degree and certificate programs. UT Chattanooga introduces every student to AI through \u201cAI for Everyone,\u201d which focuses on its ethical use. At UT Southern, the AI Fluency Initiative prepares students, faculty and staff to use this technology.<\/p>\n

At the UT Health Science Center, AI helps physicians spend less time on paperwork and more time with patients. It improves analysis of medical images, helps detect issues earlier and more accurately, and accelerates research for better treatments and healthier Tennesseans.<\/p>\n

UT works with businesses and schools in using AI<\/p>\n

UT continues to work closely with businesses<\/a> as they navigate AI. I recently heard a business owner tell diesel mechanics, \u201cYour job may not be replaced by AI, but it may be replaced by someone who knows how to use it.\u201d That stuck with me.<\/p>\n

The UT Institute for Public Service trains workers on using AI in their day-to-day jobs. These practical skills make people, companies and local governments better right now. The UT Institute of Agriculture helps farmers use AI-driven precision tools to be more profitable. UTC partners with industries to use AI to make transportation safer, from predicting traffic collisions to deploying the nation\u2019s first smart crosswalks.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re introducing AI and STEM to students at young ages. UT Martin and UT Knoxville have created programs to provide AI instruction to K-12 teachers.<\/a><\/p>\n

UTIA also manages the nation\u2019s largest 4-H program, more than 153,000 strong, which helps young people build skills in technology. Through the UT-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute, we send science kits to students across the state and reach nearly 6,000 sixth graders in 22 counties through STEMOVATE.<\/p>\n

UT also helps grow the innovation economy itself<\/p>\n

Through the UT Research Foundation (UTRF), we support startups building AI-driven companies right here in Tennessee. VisualizeAI, a Knoxville-based company founded by a UT faculty member with critical early investment from the UTRF Accelerate Fund, uses AI to gain insights on claims rejected by insurance.<\/p>\n

Technology moves fast with high stakes. Tennessee is defining its future with UT\u2019s world-class research, strong industry partners and statewide system of campuses and institutes working together. We have a collaboration track record that many states simply don\u2019t have.<\/p>\n

The future of AI in Tennessee will be built the way we\u2019ve always made progress: Together.<\/p>\n

From the factory floor to the classroom, from the farm to the clinic, UT ensures AI\u2019s reach into every part of our state. Not just a few ZIP codes or communities, but all 95 Tennessee counties.Everywhere you look, AI is there. And everywhere you look, UT leads the way.<\/p>\n

Randy Boyd is president of the University of Tennessee System.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Randy Boyd \u00a0|\u00a0 Guest columnist The future of artificial intelligence at the University of Tennessee Ozlem Kilic, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3853,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[24,601,25,1180,1192,206,599,764,774,598,624,66,1182,607,3723,3715,134,163,3748,600,1181,122,1003],"class_list":{"0":"post-3852","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ai","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial","10":"tag-artificial-intelligence","11":"tag-colleges","12":"tag-colleges-u0026-universities","13":"tag-intelligence","14":"tag-learning","15":"tag-local","16":"tag-local-news","17":"tag-machine","18":"tag-machine-learning-u0026-artificial-intelligence","19":"tag-news","20":"tag-of","21":"tag-overall","22":"tag-overall-positive","23":"tag-positive","24":"tag-technology","25":"tag-technology-news","26":"tag-tennessee","27":"tag-u0026","28":"tag-universities","29":"tag-university","30":"tag-university-of-tennessee"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3852\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}