UNO AI-CCORE Opens, Kicks Off with Inaugural Mav AI Day

🦾 What happened: The College of Information & Technology’s Artificial Intelligence Center of Collaborative Outreach, Research and Education (AI-CCORE) hosted its first annual Mav AI Day, a public forum offering insights into artificial intelligence (AI) as well as its integration into top industries and the economic role the technology plays.

• The event featured keynote presentations and expert panelists who use and manage AI in their fields, Q&A sessions, networking, and live demonstrations of AI technologies and robots spearheaded by University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) students.
• The day of discovery also marked the public launch of the AI-CCORE center.

⏱️ Catch up quick: AI-CCORE is a hub for AI services and education, aimed at helping develop the next generation of AI specialists and leaders. The center is open to supporting professionals, businesses, communities, and students to help build a better understanding of how to responsibly and successfully incorporate AI to support their endeavors.

💡Why it matters: AI is here to stay. The technological revolution touches nearly every corner of our lives, and UNO is committed to being a frontrunner when it comes to AI education, research and preparing the next generation for the workforce of the future.

🤖 The AI Center: The AI center, now a permanent fixture in the Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center (CEC), offers a physical space for the UNO community to learn and ask questions about artificial intelligence at four different stations: AI Art, AI Ethics, AI Timeline, and the AI Maker Arena.

💭 Insights:

Keynote speakers at Mav AI Day shared how AI has been integrated into day-to-day work in fields like healthcare, insurance and finance to help streamline tasks, analyze data, and improve efficiency and outcomes.

Tara Fahmie Ph.D., a behavioral scientist and director of UNMC’s Munroe Meyer Institute, says AI supports her and her healthcare colleague in a number of ways, including automated behavioral data collection, analyzing health patterns, assisting in diagnostic reports, optimizing patient schedules, and more.

“We still see AI as a supportive and augmentive partner, not a replacement,” Fahmie said.

Narayanan Nir, SVP and Chief Data Officer for FCSAmerica says in the finance field, AI has helped to automate complex, time-intensive tasks that used to be completed by humans. Nir says AI helps with things such as account reconciliation, anomaly and error detection, fraud detection, audit reports, automated spend analysis, and more.

“Solutions that have been implemented so far always have a human in the mix,” Nir said. “We want to make sure we’re doing the right thing, but [also] doing things faster, cheaper and thinking about the economies at scale.”

📣 What we heard:

• Mahadevan Subramaniam Ph.D., Computer Science Department Chair: “AI-CCORE was created with a simple but powerful goal: to make artificial intelligence accessible, practical, and beneficial for everyone. Through research, education, community engagement, and industry partnerships, this center will help prepare the next generation of leaders while addressing real-world challenges facing Nebraska and beyond.”
• UNO Chancellor Joanne Li Ph.D., CFA: “AI is moving quickly, and the workforce is changing quickly. Communities and organizations need accessible, practical, and ongoing opportunities to build AI literacy and skills. That realization helped inspire AI-CCORE,” Li said. We are committed to pragmatic research and discovery – work that improves quality of life and strengthens our region. AI-CCORE embodies that mission perfectly.”

🌎 The big picture: Mav AI Day and the new AI center align with UNO’s mission of access for all; offering a space for both the UNO and Omaha community to ask questions, improve their knowledge, and advance social and economic mobility.

🧠 What’s next?

• To learn more about AI-CCORE, to book a demonstration, or expand your AI knowledge through an offered bootcamp or masterclass, visit the AI-CCORE website.
• OMAxAI: UNO’s second-annual event will be held on June 30! Take a look at this year’s event agenda, and customize your experience whether you’re an AI beginner or an advanced user. Register for OMAxAI on Whova.