SUNY Cortland Says New Opportunities Are Coming in Part to School’s Partnership With Statewide Advancing AI for the Public Good Initiative

SUNY Cortland says for their students, new opportunities are coming to the college in part to their partnership in a statewide Advancing AI for the Public Good Initiative. Cortland says they will work with the lead institution, Binghamton University, and several other SUNY schools to find the best ethical and effective uses for the growing artificial intelligence field within academics and research.

The collaborative effort is part of the state’s Empire AI program. SUNY Cortland says the initiative will introduce students to more information on the topic, including workforce applications and ethical considerations, and allow the partnered schools to work together and create a free noncredit AI Prep for Careers microcredential. The microcredential is expected to be ready by the fall semester.

Cortland was brought into the initiative after Professor Chris Badurek, chair of the Geography Department and co-coordinator of the university’s Computer Applications Program (CAP), had been approached by his colleagues at Binghamton University. According to Badurek, the initiative is a great opportunity for students in CAP, which is an interdisciplinary minor designed to provide computing skills.

“One of the required courses in the minor used to be called CAP 104: Computers in Society, but we’re changing the name and the thrust of that course to AI, Technology and Society,” said Badurek, who also co-directs the SUNY Cortland Regional Geographic Information Systems Laboratory. “The emphasis is going to be more aligned with the curricular conversations that are part of the AI for Public Good Initiative. We’re having that going on right now and it’s an immediate campus impact.”

Badurek says a proper use of AI is considered one of the most relevant, in-demand technical skills throughout many careers. “Generative AI models like Chat GPT or Claude enable users to speed up day-to-day work tasks. Another side of AI research involves algorithm development.”

“We have students that do quantitative work,” Badurek said. “And they can apply some algorithmic functions to quantitative data in business, health care, sport management or whatever the case may be. And they learn to apply those functional tools in the way that’s going to bring value to the workplace.”

To support the initiative, SUNY Cortland will be receiving nearly $100,000 in state funding. It will also include funds to support two new summer undergraduate research fellowships through the initiative.