I have been honored to lead the ambitious and visionary One-U Responsible Artificial Intelligence Initiative and am delighted to share our achievements over its first year in this report.

The initiative has brought together an amazing set of experts from across the University of Utah to define three core thrust areas, establish processes and support structures, and launch its first set of programs: faculty fellows, postdoctoral fellows, and distinguished visitors. In parallel, we’ve started establishing the cyberinfrastructure resources critical to responsible AI. We’ve also engaged in extensive community building and outreach—including through our partnership with The Leonardo, a nonprofit museum of creativity and innovation in downtown Salt Lake City.

All of this would not have been possible without the vibrant interdisciplinary community that has generously given their time to define the initiative and move it forward. In our committees and working groups, 50 faculty and staff members across 12 colleges have contributed their expertise, setting the stage for the U to harness AI to solve the world’s pressing problems. Still more faculty and partners from government and industry, representing more than 75 entities, have joined us at our events. They’ve helped us showcase AI’s challenges and opportunities—its capacity to tutor students, track pollution, help doctors save lives, and more. Thanks to the collaborative, innovative people powering this initiative, we’re well-positioned to benefit the state, region, and world.

Looking ahead, we’re excited to work with our inaugural program awardees and launch our initial cluster hires early next year. All of these programs aim to assemble leading AI experts across various fields. They will be our driving force, producing novel ideas with real-world applications. We’re also poised to expand our cyberinfrastructure, ensuring Utah remains at the forefront of discovery and technological innovation. We invite you to be a part of this initiative by attending an event, signing up for a special interest group, or leveraging one of the other opportunities listed here on our website. We are driven by our mission to harness AI to address scientific and societal grand challenges, and we hope you’ll join us.

—Manish Parashar