AI at the U Forum: September 16, 2026

September 28, 2026Callie Reed

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Overview

Faculty, staff, researchers, and students recently gathered for the latest AI at the U Forum to explore emerging topics in artificial intelligence, learn about new University resources, and discuss responsible AI practices across research, teaching, and administrative work. The September forum featured presentations on the environmental considerations of generative AI, responsible AI use in scholarly work, and the University's updated AI Use Guidelines.

Putting AI into Action: The Crimson AI Challenge

The forum began with community announcements and opportunities for engagement, including the newly launched Crimson AI Challenge, an initiative inviting faculty, staff, researchers, and students to share real examples of how they are using AI to solve problems, improve outcomes, save time, or create new opportunities. Participants can submit work across research, teaching and learning, and operations, with opportunities for recognition, AI credits, and symposium presentations.

Connect, Learn, and Engage

Attendees also learned about upcoming events and programs, including:

Recurring Opportunities

AI Office Hours, every other Friday, 12–1 PM
AI Community of Practice, 4th Tuesday, 11 AM
AI Tinker Lab, Tuesdays, 1 PM
AI at the U Forum, every six weeks, Wednesdays, 12 PM
Data Drop-in Hours, Thursdays, 11 AM

Featured Events

AI Foundations Series, Thursdays, 1 PM
Crimson AI Challenge: all are invited to participate!
October 6, One-U Responsible AI Initiative Annual Symposium
October 30, DELPHI Symposium
November 19, AI Student-Led Symposium
- Want your voice on AI to be heard by faculty, business leaders, and the community? We welcome students from all departments to submit to present at the conference.
  - Deadline to submit: October 18th at 11:59 PM

Human Responsibility Remains Essential

A central theme throughout the discussion was that people remain accountable for their work, even when AI is used as an assistive technology. Whether in research, teaching and learning, or administrative operations, human judgment, oversight, and responsibility remain essential components of responsible AI use. The guidelines also emphasize that AI should not serve as the sole basis for high-impact decisions and that higher-risk use cases may require additional assessment and review before deployment.

Resources, Tools, and Support

There are many ways to engage with AI at the U:

Share this recap with a friend, and sign up for email updates from the Office of Artificial Intelligence.
Explore upcoming events and register.
Review available tools and access options.
- If you're working with patient or clinical data, please use University of Utah Health's Enterprise AI Platforms.

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