MAIN helps students and businesses to learn about artificial intelligence use
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Artificial Intelligence is everywhere, and it’s not going away. A statewide initiative is helping students and businesses learn to work with it.
The Mississippi AI Network, or MAIN, is a network connecting Mississippi’s public universities, elementary and secondary schools, government agencies, and businesses to collaborate and learn to use artificial intelligence and advance it across the state.
MAIN hosts free courses that cover many aspects of AI and provide those who take them with digital badges or certificates upon completion.
Lara Taylor, the Project Manager at Co-Work at The Hub and The Idea Shop, says knowing how to use AI is vital, and training needs to start early, but for younger learners, there needs to be some guardrails.
“It’s great that they’re developing these tools, but again, the problem is, there are no regulations, there are no safeguards in place to keep these kids safe while they’re using this technology. We have ratings on TV shows, music, and video games. We don’t rate these chatbots on how safe they are for a child to use. You know, so there’s a big gap right now, and in how we’re operating and how we need to be operating, I guess,” said Taylor.
Taylor said MAIN has already delivered 20,000 hours of courses.
