![\"Juniors](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/busn2025_04_23_AIDay-426.jpg\")
\u2018We don\u2019t want tech to be scary\u2019<\/h2>\n
The brain-tumor project is one that was developed for students in UConn\u2019s Allied Health program. It was presented by five emerging-tech enthusiasts. All of them are leaders in the School of Business\u2019 Innovate Labs, an experiential learning hub that offers everything from robotics to drone demonstrations, 3D printing to virtual reality. The students\u2019 goal was to spark interest and curiosity in those who might be reluctant to try AI.<\/p>\n
\u201cI enjoyed showing everyone how we get our students excited about emerging tech,\u2019\u2019 said junior Audrey Larson, a material science engineering major and Innovate Labs instructor. \u201cWe don\u2019t want tech to be scary or overwhelming. We want people to try new technology.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Junior Sophie Kozak, a physics major and astrophysics minor, said she has used artificial intelligence to augment her research on black holes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt takes what you\u2019ve done and gives you tips and tricks for doing it better,\u2019\u2019 she said. \u201cAI is part of everyday life now.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
AI Has Vastly Improved in Just Two Years<\/h2>\n
In a later presentation, School of Business professor Wei Chen, an AI expert, led a course on using AI for business intelligence. He discussed how Generative AI can accelerate business decision-making and reveal insights, often reducing research time from six months to a few days.<\/p>\n
He shared several examples of how AI is shaping business, including an AI-generated graph showing the average vacation rental prices, each week, in a specific area; a program that allows a user to upload a menu and then AI identifies the restaurant that it came from; and the ability to pinpoint a cargo ship at sea and determine where it will dock.<\/p>\n
Chen said UConn has graduate business students who are well-versed in AI and are eager to assist companies with their AI-development projects.<\/p>\n
\u2018I\u2019m excited about everything I see\u2019<\/h2>\n
The AI Day keynote speaker was M.K. Palmore, a Google Cloud executive. Prior to joining Google Cloud, Palmore served for 32 years in the FBI, specializing in cybersecurity, crisis management, and counterterrorism.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited about everything I see,\u2019\u2019 Palmore said. \u201cBeing at Google is like being on a rocket ride. You\u2019re at the center of innovation.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
He said machine learning will be integrated into almost everything that is brought to market and will play an equally big role in government and education. For instance, a chatbot at the DMV would allow customers to verify they have all the information they need to register a car before they speak with staff. In education, AI could offer customized tutoring or predictive analytics. He said the laborious FBI field office inspection reports that he used to compile, could be completed in minutes instead of months.<\/p>\n
For cybersecurity, AI will help close the gap between the need for 1 million experts worldwide and the talent shortage. For example, it could assess whether a security breach is minor or significant. Cybercriminals are savvy, agile, persistent and capable, he said. \u201cAn attacker only needs to be right once, but a defender needs to be right every time,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
Seeking Ways to Differentiate Ourselves<\/h2>\n
Meanwhile School of Business Interim Dean Greg Reilly said AI is impacting all businesses and is a source of growing interest for the School\u2019s business undergraduates and graduate students. A proponent of artificial intelligence, he said the state and its businesses must keep up with technology to succeed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if we are all using similar tools, we will also have to find ways to differentiate ourselves,\u2019\u2019 Reilly said, adding the conference is a chance to do that.
\n\u201cWe have a lot to offer in the talent-development space,\u2019\u2019 he told business leaders. \u201cWe want to be your partner in that endeavor.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Following Reilly, Connecticut Department of Economic & Community Development Commissioner Dan O\u2019Keefe spoke about how Connecticut is poised to take advantage of AI. In recent years, the state has seen acceleration in jobs, economic growth, and a renewed interest in living here.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Keefe, whose background includes working for tech companies, said the state is embarking on a series of initiatives to propel Connecticut\u2019s growth over the next 25 to 50 years.<\/p>\n
Seeking New Ideas, Solutions<\/h2>\n
Alumnus David Gallo \u201984 (CLAS) works for a global manufacturing company that has been experimenting with emerging technology. Gallo said he thinks there is a gap between high-tech ideas and practical implementation. He attended AI Day to expand his knowledge and identify opportunities that could benefit his employer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI liked the energy and ideas from the speakers,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cThey presented good recommendations about how AI is developing, how to move forward, and where to be more thoughtful.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UConn Students Demonstrate Medical Imaging Diagnostics\u2014Available In Minutes Using Artificial Intelligence<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":229004,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2296,2224,1862],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2105],"class_list":["post-228994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-allied-health-sciences","category-cahnr","category-busn"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-28 05:26:30","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228994"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":229008,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228994\/revisions\/229008"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/229004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=228994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=228994"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=228994"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=228994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}