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The State of California has partnered with technology company NVIDIA on a new initiative to collaborate on cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) efforts and provide students, educators, and workers with access to this technology.
The initiative, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom and NVIDIA Founder and CEO Jensen Huang, aims to train students, educators and workers, as well as support job creation and promote innovation, and use AI to solve challenges that can improve the lives of Californians.
Among other goals, the goal is to bring new AI resources to NVIDIA community colleges, including curricula and certifications, hardware and software, AI labs and workshops, and more, to open new avenues for students, educators, and workers to learn new skills and advance their careers.
"California's world-leading companies are pioneering advances in artificial intelligence, and it's critical that we create more opportunities for Californians to gain the skills needed to use this technology and advance their careers," Newsom said during the agreement.
The governor highlighted that this partnership connects artificial intelligence tools directly with students, educators and workers, creating a channel to drive the innovations of the future.
This initiative builds on Governor Newsom’s executive order requiring the state to use artificial intelligence to better serve Californians.
“We are in the early stages of a new industrial revolution that will transform trillion-dollar industries around the world. Together with California, NVIDIA will train 100,000 students, university professors, developers and data scientists to harness this technology to prepare California for tomorrow’s challenges and create prosperity across the state,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA.
The Santa Clara-based tech company aims to provide technical guidance, mentorship and access to advanced AI hardware and software resources to support cutting-edge research initiatives, while California will explore opportunities to support early-stage AI startups and public-private partnerships to create AI innovation zones and job creation hubs.
California and NVIDIA plan to collaborate to create AI labs at higher education facilities that can be equipped to meet the evolving needs of AI education and research.
The state noted that it will fund AI workforce training initiatives in educational institutions and industries and work with NVIDIA to develop programs for teachers aimed at improving AI literacy and curriculum.
To that end, NVIDIA aims to create pipelines and learning paths for AI talent and industry-recognized certifications for AI in specific sectors, including train-the-trainer programs for teachers, while California will adopt skills and training for state careers, including new roles for AI specialists in government.
"This partnership will help California's community colleges and their more than 2 million students prepare with industry-aligned AI skills and be ready from day one for careers that will boost their prosperity and our state's economic competitiveness," said Sonya Christian, Chancellor of California Community Colleges.
“We cannot stand idly by as AI changes the future of learning, and our approach prioritizes equitable access to AI teaching and learning enhancements that will help underserved populations,” she added.
Following Friday’s announcement, California issued a call to action to encourage other AI and technology stakeholders to join in future collaborations to ensure California remains a global leader in education, innovation, research, and preparing today’s and tomorrow’s workforce.
It is noteworthy that the University of California and California State University systems will also partner with the state on these initiatives in the future.
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