Collaboration unites top universities to push boundaries of AI research
By Clara Turnage
The University of Mississippi is among several select institutions worldwide invited to join NextGenAI, a $50 million initiative designed to advance artificial intelligence research and education.
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, announced the consortium on March 4, 2025.
“The NextGenAI partnership marks a significant step in the University of Mississippi‘s efforts to build on our existing expertise in artificial intelligence and explore new ways to integrate AI into our core mission of education, research and service,” said John Higginbotham, UM vice chancellor for research and economic development.
“This collaboration strengthens our commitment to innovation and positions our campus as a leader in advancing AI-driven solutions that benefit our students, faculty and the broader community.”
The collaboration aims to support AI-driven research in a variety of fields while supporting members’ mission of driving progress in science, medicine, technology and education.
“A close collaboration with universities is essential to our mission of building AI that benefits everyone,” said Brad Lightcap, chief operating officer of OpenAI. “NextGenAI will accelerate research progress and catalyze a new generation of institutions equipped to harness the transformative power of AI.”
Other NextGenAI members are:
- Boston Public Library
- Boston Children’s Hospital
- California Institute of Technology
- California State University System
- Duke University
- Harvard University
- Howard University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Ohio State University
- University of Oxford
- Sciences Po
- Texas A&M University
- University of Georgia
- University of Michigan.
Ole Miss is the only institution in Mississippi and one of only three Southeastern Conference universities invited to join the collaboration. NextGenAI will provide $50,000 to fund research through the National Center of Narrative Intelligence in partnership with the Center for Practical Ethics and the Institute for Data Science, said Wes Jennings, co-director of the center.
“The idea at the National Center of Narrative Intelligence is that we embrace AI as tools that can build efficiencies in research,” Jennings said. “OpenAI is a world leader in AI applications, and I think this collaboration shows that we are and have been recognized as an emerging leader in AI.”
Artificial intelligence can streamline data processing, find patterns and complete repetitive tasks at high speed, which can significantly reduce the amount of time needed to conduct research.
“We know that AI can do things in minutes that would take researchers hundreds of hours to do by hand,” he said. “It’s a tool; let’s use it to solve grand challenges nimbly and with efficiency.”
The center will host a competitive grant process to identify research projects that would benefit from OpenAI’s support. The call for applications will be available for Ole Miss researchers later this semester.
“This grant is going to allow us to support interdisciplinary, collaborative research,” Jennings said. “We want to kick-start ideas and provide resources that can help those working with AI on campus.
“We’re looking for bright ideas and bright minds to work on them.”
