At Stony Brook and other SUNY campuses, new efforts to advance AI research

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In an effort to build New York State as a leader in artificial intelligence, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she is fostering initiatives that would advance “responsible research” for the public good at state universities, including the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Through the state’s Empire AI initiative, a platform for which $275 million was secured in the fiscal year 2025 budget, the initiative is designed to spur innovation.

“We are not waiting to start bringing the power of AI to our students,” Hochul said in a news release about the program.

“Empire AI will position New York at the forefront of this burgeoning industry, with SUNY students pioneering the research that will transform the way that New Yorkers live their lives for the better.”

The state is partnering with SUNY and the university system’s Artificial Intelligence Task Force to launch the SUNY Innovative Network for SUNY’s Pioneering AI Research and Excellence (INSPIRE) Center. The center is designed to support SUNY in scaling AI research and scholarship that is aimed at not only advancing he public good, but also attracting federal research funding for students and faculty, and leveraging Empire AI across SUNY’s four university centers. In addition to Stony Brook University, the additional sites include University at Albany, Binghamton University and University at Buffalo.

The funding is also designed to support the creation of Departments and Centers of AI and Society across selected SUNY campuses. In addition, the funding would support a new chatbot program to enable students to develop projects, learn from faculty and their peers and interact with customized AI-based tutors tailored to provide anytime-anywhere assistance.

The Chancellor’s Summer Research Excellence Fund is to foster 45 paid summer research internships.