Google.org invests in AI learning at Creighton
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Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, has provided Creighton with a $250,000 grant to support the University’s efforts to prepare students for the rapidly expanding uses of artificial intelligence in all walks of work and life.
The funding in Creighton Libraries’ emerging technologies initiative will empower students, faculty and staff to engage with AI on a number of levels, employing it as a tool for learning and research while also exploring the ways it’s reshaping the workforce across every field and industry.
Dan Harbeke, Google’s regional head of public policy and external affairs, said the tech company “continues to discover bold and exciting new ideas in the heartland, ideas that are pushing the boundaries of technology and education.”
“Creighton’s emerging technologies initiative is one such effort,” he said. “Through Creighton’s unique and inventive approach, these opportunities will spark new careers in a growing field and, in turn, strengthen Nebraska’s workforce and economy.”
Leading the emerging technologies initiative at Creighton is University Librarian Michael Paulus Jr., DMin, MLIS, an experienced academic administrator who has extensively researched, published and presented on the topic. Paulus has written one book about AI (Artificial Intelligence and the Apocalyptic Imagination: Artificial Agency and Human Hope) and edited another (AI, Faith, and the Future: An Interdisciplinary Approach).
With Google’s support, Paulus said, Creighton will further develop ways to familiarize students with AI and enable them to integrate these tools into their learning and research as they prepare to enter an ever-evolving workforce.
“Creighton — with its many excellent academic programs emphasizing reflective education for a better world — is especially well-suited to lead the way in this area,” Paulus said. “Students will learn not only practical applications of AI but also the many ethical considerations related to it and how public policy can shape its future uses.”
Paulus said that, over time, AI learning and research applications refined through the University Libraries’ emerging technologies initiative could be more thoroughly integrated into the curriculum across programs in all schools and colleges.
Students will learn not only practical applications of AI but also the many ethical considerations related to it and how public policy can shape its future uses.
— Michael Paulus Jr., DMin, MLIS, University Librarian
Creighton’s emerging technologies initiative will be developed in part through the Reinert-Alumni Memorial Library space formerly known as the IDEAHub, launched in 2021. In addition to its focus on AI, the initiative includes support for academic innovations related to virtual reality and a Maker Space, which provides students with a creative workshop for hands-on learning, inventive exploration and more.
“In business, technology, healthcare and more, Creighton trains its students not merely to fill positions but to innovate entire fields,” said Creighton President the Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD. “Creighton’s emerging technologies initiative is a tremendous example of this spirit, and Google.org’s funding will allow this high-tech effort to connect with more students, explore more paths and keep Creighton at the cutting edge of education.”
Google.org’s funding to Creighton continues the company’s long legacy of investment in Nebraska and Iowa communities.
Google recently pledged $1 billion to expand its Council Bluffs data center campus and $1.3 million to support water preservation and conservation efforts in the Missouri River valley. Since the data center’s 2007 construction, Google has invested more than $6 billion in the facility. The company has likewise spent billions building and expanding data centers in Omaha, Papillion and Lincoln, and recently announced its latest progress in decarbonization and water stewardship in the state.
One essential area where Google is making a difference is brain gain, said Fr. Hendrickson.
For Creighton’s part, in-state graduate retention remains one of the University’s main priorities and points of pride. Nearly 80% of Creighton students come from outside Nebraska, and nearly half remain in the state after graduation.
“Many of our students had never set foot in the state before their first campus visit to Creighton,” said Fr. Hendrickson, a native of Fremont, Nebraska. “But once they come here, they see just how extraordinary it is. They see a place where they could start a career or a family, a place they can call home.”
“And every day,” he continued, “Google makes our home a better place to live and work and thrive. We are deeply grateful for the all-encompassing partnership they have forged with our city and state.”
