Dedicated students, distinguished colleagues and dear friends,

Happy Friday! Happy Juneteenth!

Yesterday, our governor, Governor Mike Kehoe, hosted the state’s first forum on artificial intelligence and data centers here on our campus. AI, representing change, has caused profound anxiety or exhilaration, depending on your view of change. This change, not different from all other major technological advancements, has provoked apprehension, to say the least.

The forum provided the opportunity to highlight what AI is and what it isn’t. Knowledgeable speakers delineated intelligence and intellect, capacity and speed vs. judgment, knowledge vs. wisdom. One speaker, Dr. Amaury Lendasse, aptly compared the 100 trillion human brain synapses with the 1 trillion large language model (LLM) parameters of even the most powerful AI models today, and it is just 1% of the human brain’s capacity. The speakers also highlighted that, like past technological advances, AI offers opportunities to revolutionize manufacturing, healthcare delivery, productivity, educational support, and innovation.

Of course, history is full of disruptive technologies that introduced numerous advantages that none of us are willing to trade in reverse. I think of the light bulb, the calculator, the cellphone, the automobile, the airplane and the massive disruption they all caused when introduced. Yet, the fear of change was talked about for decades. Today, AI represents a new chapter in the ever-evolving landscape of technological advancement, along with the excitement that it ignites for its potential, and the anxiety it creates for its consequences.

The other major topic of the forum was the infrastructure needed to support high-performance computing that must be available to, well, enable AI. Dr. Genda Chen, offered insights into elements of the physical facilities such as power infrastructure for generation, transmission and distribution; computing infrastructure such as servers, storage systems and networking; cooling systems, cyber and physical security. Like Dr. Lendasse, Dr. Chen also compared AI and data center functions to those of the human brain: servers and processors vs. neurons; network connections vs. synapses; storage systems and databases vs. memory; fiber optics and networks vs. nervous systems; data, devices and applications vs. sensory inputs; software, algorithms, and AI LLMs vs. decision-making; power and cooling systems vs. energy and body fluid circulation; physical and cybersecurity protection vs. the skull and immune systems.

Both topics received careful attention from the audience in the full conference hall, partly out of curiosity, partly out of apprehension and partly out of cautious excitement. Both eager and anxious participants wanted to know more and perhaps get assurance that the disruption won’t become destructive. The speakers helped reframe fear as a constructive force and encouraged critical inquiry, constructive participation and informed suggestions on responsible technology innovation and implementation of AI and data centers.

AI advances aren't slowing down, and all jobs won’t get done by robots, but how work is delivered will change. As cost and complexity increase, the advantage goes to AI-enabled teams.

In preparation for the exciting new directions, here at S&T, we have implemented deliberate and thoughtful measures across all our degree programs to equip our students and industry partners to adapt and reap the benefits of new AI technologies.

In the end, the forum highlighted that how we navigate the new AI paradigm will redefine our work and progress in life. We must put our fears aside and embrace the upcoming, inevitable advancements with curiosity, excitement and innovation. And then wonder how we ever managed without this enabler tool in our toolbox. Sound familiar? 

But for now, as history reminds us, let's make sure we aren't fearing the fear of change itself.

Warmly,

-Mo.
 
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Mohammad Dehghani, PhD
Chancellor
mo@mst.edu | 573-341-4116

206 Parker Hall, 300 West 13th Street, Rolla, MO 65409-0910
chancellor.mst.edu