The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) College of Engineering (CoEng) invited community members to the inaugural Alaska AI Solutions Consortium. The meeting was attended by 22 individuals who represented a diversity of sectors that included healthcare, government, engineering, academia, finance, non-profits, startups, rural communities, and small businesses. The purpose of the meeting was to build effective, sustainable partnerships between the university and the community that identify and enhance AI applications in Alaska.

Information presented includes:

• Examples of UAA’s capabilities in AI relating to academic programs and research, and related resources such as working with students, commercialization, and compliance.
• An overview of how attendees are using AI in Alaska and areas where AI might be utilized.
• Spotlights from Executive Board Members included AI usage among healthcare startups, applications for the public good, and in finance.

Anyone with an idea for a project in which AI may be applied can contact us. Typically, but not always, an AI project has a large amount of data to draw from, is definable, and involves some type of predictive analysis. We are happy to meet with interested parties to discuss factors such as risk, privacy, and bias that may play a role in an AI solution.

Next steps:

• The project team should consider ways to better get the message out and promote the goals of the consortium, perhaps collaborating with marketing students.
• Consider workshops on specific AI topics in which community members expressed interest.
• Develop a mechanism to invite community members to submit ideas for AI projects.
• Develop a mini-grant application process for faculty to work together with a community partner on an AI project.

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Jacqueline Summers

Lori Moore

Brendan Babb