Is the University of Tennessee System doing enough around artificial intelligence (AI)? I get that question a lot. The question isn’t whether Tennessee will be affected by AI. It’s whether we will lead.
The answer is yes.
I graduated from UT Knoxville in 1979, the same year Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) launched the Oak Ridge Applied Artificial Intelligence Project, a first of its kind. AI isn’t new in Tennessee. It’s part of our foundation.
We continue to build on that groundwork today. ORNL launched Frontier in 2022 as the fastest computer in the world and it continues to power cutting-edge, AI-driven research. ORNL continues to tackle one of AI’s biggest challenges: the enormous energy it requires. Through the Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission, ORNL connects supercomputers, labs, AI and data to accelerate research in the United States.
Across our campuses and institutes, we ensure students are ready for an AI-driven world.
Through its AI Tennessee initiative, UT Knoxville embeds AI across colleges and curricula while also launching AI degree and certificate programs. UT Chattanooga introduces every student to AI through “AI for Everyone,” which focuses on its ethical use. At UT Southern, the AI Fluency Initiative prepares students, faculty and staff to use this technology.
At the UT Health Science Center, AI helps physicians spend less time on paperwork and more time with patients. It improves analyzation of medical images, helps detect issues earlier and more accurately, and accelerates research for better treatments and healthier Tennesseans.
UT continues to work closely with businesses as they navigate AI. I recently heard a business owner tell diesel mechanics, “Your job may not be replaced by AI, but it may be replaced by someone who knows how to use it.” That stuck with me.
The UT Institute for Public Service trains workers on using AI in their day-to-day jobs. These practical skills make people, companies and local governments better right now. The UT Institute of Agriculture helps farmers use AI-driven precision tools to be more profitable. UTC partners with industries to use AI to make transportation safer, from predicting traffic collisions to deploying the nation’s first smart crosswalks.
We’re introducing AI and STEM to students at young ages. UT Martin and UT Knoxville have created programs to provide AI instruction to K-12 teachers. UTIA also manages the nation’s largest 4-H program, more than 153,000 strong, which helps young people build skills in technology. Through the UT–Oak Ridge Innovation Institute, we send science kits to students across the state and reach nearly 6,000 sixth graders in 22 counties through STEMOVATE.
We also help grow the innovation economy itself. Through the UT Research Foundation (UTRF), we support startups building AI-driven companies right here in Tennessee. VisualizeAI, a Knoxville-based company founded by a UT faculty member with critical early investment from the UTRF Accelerate Fund, uses AI to gain insights on claims rejected by insurance.
Technology moves fast with high stakes. Tennessee is defining its future with UT’s world-class research, strong industry partners and statewide system of campuses and institutes working together. We have a collaboration track record that many states simply don’t have.
The future of AI in Tennessee will be built the way we’ve always made progress: Together.
From the factory floor to the classroom, from the farm to the clinic, UT ensures AI’s reach into every part of our state. Not just a few zip codes or communities, but all 95 Tennessee counties. Everywhere you look, AI is there. And everywhere you look, UT leads the way.
