Nvidia, a multi-trillion-dollar tech company, began a collaboration with Fairfield’s Miles College, symbolizing a commitment to getting underrepresented communities first-class artificial intelligence (AI) training.

The partnership began after Bobbie Knight, the president of Miles College, reached out to Nvidia with an idea.

“I wanted this partnership because the future is here. It’s not here in 10 years — it’s here right now, and AI is part of that future. I wanted to make sure our students, not just at Miles but across HBCUs and Alabama, are positioned to live in a world dominated by AI.”
Bobbie Knight

AI has the potential to widen the existing racial gap in technology, according to the Center for Public Integrity. That’s why Miles College is taking proactive steps to ensure their students are ready to join the workforce.

Training at HBCUs + beyond

This partnership is a big deal for Miles College and the surrounding community — Nvidia recently became the first publicly-traded company to go beyond $5 trillion in market value. Although the company got their start in gaming graphics processing unit chips (GPUs), Nvidia has made its mark on the AI and supercomputing industries.

This collaborative effort between Nvidia and Miles College will span “from classroom instruction and faculty research to local community engagement,” the college said in a recent statement.

“This is a ‘right now’ opportunity — it’s not a 5-10-year opportunity. If all of you are not involved in AI right now, that’s a problem. If you don’t think about how AI can change the situations for your family, that’s a problem.”
Louis Stewart, Nvidia’s head of strategic initiatives

Already, Miles College says nearly half of its faculty are using AI tools in their course curriculums, and 60% of research projects on campus are supported by AI.

The long-term goal, according to Knight, is to take Miles’ AI know-how into the greater community.

“We’ve talked about taking this out to K-12. Young people need to start now understanding AI and its implications in daily life. It has the potential to be life-changing for so many.”

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