The project is led by the California Government Operations Agency, known as GovOps, which includes the California Department of Technology, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), and the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency.
IMPROVING AI EDUCATION, CREATING AI JOBS
In this new alliance, higher education institutions and state agencies will lean on NVIDIA’s expertise to create AI laboratories, develop AI curricula and certifications, and integrate these resources into existing associate degree programs and professional development tools, the memorandum said.
“We’re in the early stages of a new industrial revolution that will transform trillion-dollar industries around the world,” NVIDIA co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang said in a news release. “Together with California, NVIDIA will train students, college faculty, developers and data scientists to harness this technology to prepare California for tomorrow’s challenges and unlock prosperity throughout the state.”
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
According to the memorandum, AI could accelerate growth and innovation in industries such as climate and energy, biotechnology, media and entertainment, agriculture, and transportation. This growth and innovation will increase the already significant need for a skilled workforce, and that's where workforce enablement programs come in. State agencies, CCCCO and NVIDIA can collaborate on AI education programs and practical training initiatives to provide these skills to students and workers, especially those from historically underserved populations who may have easier access to community colleges than traditional four-year institutions.
“Community colleges are a good place to go, because we need to make sure everybody gets brought along for what’s happening right now in AI and tech,” Alex Stack, a spokesman for Gov. Newsom's office, said. “We cannot leave folks behind.”
A robust AI workforce could contribute innovative solutions to complex challenges in public and private sectors across California, the memorandum said.
For example, Stack said, “Caltrans has an unbelievable mass of data that no human being will ever be able to go through. Let's use AI to try to decipher this and make our roads safer, sort of thing. That’s the idea.”
To achieve these objectives, the group agreed on smaller, more-specific strategic initiatives also listed in the memorandum. The MOU is not binding, and Stack said there is no specific timeline for these ideas.
The partnership will use NVIDIA’s expertise in AI laboratory design, software and hardware, while the governor’s office will handle public funding and support for digital collaboration platforms. The memorandum said these efforts aim to create a system for academic institutions, industry partners and government agencies to foster AI innovation together. For example, CCCCO can find ways to integrate AI and machine learning into existing curricula and develop training programs to increase AI literacy among faculty. NVIDIA will have input to keep educational materials and systems up to date, while faculty members will be able to get certified as AI ambassadors, supported by ongoing professional development and grants.
To further bridge the gap between education and industry, NVIDIA may host workshops, seminars and networking events, while the state may establish programs to support AI startups and integrate AI projects into state agencies and higher education institutions.
THE JOURNEY HERE
The NVIDIA alliance is the latest in a series of statewide AI initiatives supported by Newsom since he issued an executive order last September to deploy GenAI ethically and responsibly throughout state government, including research on risk, best uses, procurement, development, training and more.
In May 2024, several state agencies entered into agreements with tech companies to test out GenAI in their respective systems over a six-month period. As one example, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) aims to investigate near-misses of injuries and fatalities on roadways and locate risky areas, tracking potential safety interventions and interpreting traffic patterns through their partnerships with Accenture and Deloitte Consulting.
“With an average of 12 Californians dying on our roadways every day, we need to use every tool available to end the roadway crisis and reach our goal of zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2050,” California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin said in a May 2024 news release.
Other agencies entered into similar partnerships: the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration wants to make reference materials easily searchable to improve customer service, the California Health and Human Services Agency partnered with Accenture to use artificial intelligence to help non-English speakers navigate information on public benefits and programs, and the California Department of Public Health wants to quickly document findings in health-care facility inspections.
Later that same month, UC Berkeley hosted a GenAI summit in partnership with Newsom, Stanford University, the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development and the California Government Operations Agency. As reported by Industry Insider — California,* panelists spoke about democratizing AI technology, which the NVIDIA partnership now aims to do by offering AI education to historically underserved groups. There, Newsom also noted that the state had about 20 bills related to AI moving through the Legislature, each written by lawmakers with varying levels of AI understanding, Insider reported.
Shortly thereafter, in July 2024, the California Department of Human Resources started offering professional development courses for public employees, whether they be in the general workforce, business leaders, or technical and cybersecurity experts.
Also in the last year, the state issued a GenAI toolkit for public employees, which explains the responsibilities public officials have in buying and using generative AI programs. It also offers use cases, training, risk assessment and help in procuring GenAI technology.
California's new partnership with NVIDIA proposes to build on these initiatives, with a new focus on education, which will ultimately feed back into the workforce.
“Community colleges could kind of serve as this hub for local communities to work with the local county or local cities” on challenges where AI could be of assistance, Stack said.
Staff writer Skip Descant contributed to this story.
*Note: Industry Insider — California and Government Technology are both part of e.Republic.
