Leaders at Florida’s public universities are consulting with in-house and private-sector artificial intelligence experts to help develop the state’s approach to the technology.
During a discussion at the Florida Governor’s Commission meeting Wednesday at the University of West Florida in Pensacola, the board questioned Google experts and officials from Florida International University, the University of South Florida and the University of Florida.
Gov. Ed Haddock said the state is compiling a report on recommended use of AI across the system “in the near term.” Mr. Haddock chairs the newly formed Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity.
“Many of our universities are doing a great job of incorporating AI into the curriculum of a variety of majors and courses, allowing us to teach students how to use AI thoughtfully on the job,” said Board of Regents Chairman Alan Levin.
Levine said the system created the task force because of “all the potential risks that exist for us with the increased use of AI, but also the opportunities.”
The University of Florida reports that it offers more than 230 AI-related courses and hosts the most powerful university-owned supercomputer in the United States. UF presents its AI vision on a dedicated web page.
“Suddenly, AI is everywhere in our lives and work, and our job is to prepare our students for this reality, even as it evolves,” the website states.
The Florida State University website, Florida International University, and the University of Central Florida websites describe each university’s approach and offerings.
AI is part of the University of South Florida’s Department of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, and Computing, which offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in AI. Degrees are also available at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Florida Atlantic University offers minor and graduate degrees in AI.
An AI symposium will be held at the University of North Florida in April.
The University of West Florida offers an AI in Workplace certificate, and New College of Florida includes AI in its computer science coursework.
Questions? Comments? Concerns?
Levine suggested that AI could lag the four-year graduation rate of students whose degree and job prospects have significantly changed while in school.
Chris Hine, an AI expert at Google who is tasked with applying AI to the public sector, suggested to the board that AI could, for example, help scientists apply for grants so they can spend more time on research.
Board Chair Alan Levine addresses the state of the system during the Florida State University Board of Governors meeting on January 29, 2026. (Photo by Jay Wagmeester/Florida Phoenix) “For the first time in our history, the United States is actually one of the least enthusiastic about new technology,” Hain said of AI, noting that China is particularly quick to incorporate AI into everyday experiences compared to Europe and China.
Levine expressed concern that some Florida students may not be ready to work in the world of AI if institutions are slow to respond.
“As a board, I think we and the trustees are going to be faced with a lot of students in the next 48 months who are saying, ‘I just got a four-year education and I can’t find a job,'” Levine said. “…It’s a little scary to know that we have a system in place where student unemployment can reach 35%.”
University system decision-makers look forward to continuing to collaborate in a system-wide approach, weaving together efforts that are already established and growing across the system.
“The other thing that we haven’t observed here or documented is that, yes, AI will eliminate a lot of jobs, but it will also create new jobs, so students have to be trained broadly enough to be flexible and able to pivot,” said UC President Joseph Glover, nodding to the agreement of University of South Florida President Prasanth Mohapatra.
Hein, the Google expert, likened AI to an industrial revolution, saying new technologies have been and will continue to be integrated into every industry in some way.
“In many ways, I’m bullish [students] They will be the ones who will be the quickest to adapt to how the economy changes and what new jobs will be created as a result of this revolution,” Hayne said.
government intervention
Leaders across government are considering how to engage with and regulate AI.
While Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Senate advanced the AI Bill of Rights, SB 482, in the just-concluded legislative session, the Florida House of Representatives did not. This would prohibit companion chatbots (AI systems that mimic emotional connections) from talking to minors without parental consent and require bots to remind users that they are not human.
Parents would have been able to opt out of their children’s use of AI tools at school. Elementary schools would have been prohibited from providing access to AI, whether for translation support for English language learners or accommodations for people with disabilities, unless school staff supervised its use.
Leaders are divided on whether AI should be regulated at the state or federal level.
“I think this issue is too important to wait for Congress,” Sen. Tom Leake (R-Ormond Beach), a sponsor of the AI Bill of Rights, said during a committee hearing during the session. “If you’re going to wait for Congress, God help you.”
House Speaker Daniel Perez, a Republican from Miami, takes a different view.
“AI and [Florida] “The House’s position on AI is … consistent,” Perez said earlier this month. “We believe that the federal government should care about AI, and that whatever laws and policies we have should be enacted at the national level, not on a state-by-state basis.”
President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning states from regulating AI. However, states retain the right to legislate.
Mr. DeSantis has been vocal about the role AI should play in society.
In July, he said, “I’m not saying we should entrust humanity to artificial intelligence. I think that’s potentially very dangerous. Obviously technology is what it is, and it’s not something you can just stick your head in the sand and hope everything disappears.” The governor went on to predict that advances in AI will result in “a massive upheaval in employment.”
DeSantis added, “Are we going to just have students write their term papers to artificial intelligence? Look, do they even have to think about it? And at that point, when you remove that, it’s like, ‘Okay, we’re not going to think, we’re going to rely on this,'” he said.
DeSantis warned that the combination of over-reliance on AI and manipulated data that facilitates AI answers “could actually change society in many ways.”
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