UB among nation’s top AI-ready universities, according to new ranking

UB is among the top colleges and universities in the country when it comes to preparing students for a future driven by artificial intelligence, according to a new independent assessment.

AIREDEX (AI Readiness Index) ranked UB in its top 25 universities nationwide and gave it an overall AI readiness score of 9 out of 10. UB sits at No. 22, the highest among public universities in New York State and tied with Stanford University, Duke University, Georgia Institute of Technology and Case Western Reserve University.

“This ranking is yet another reminder of UB’s decades of pioneering work in realizing AI for good,” said Venu Govindaraju, senior vice president for research, innovation and economic development and chief AI officer at UB. “It reflects strategic investments made to enhance our national leadership in AI and prepare the next generation of students for success in an AI-driven economy.”

AIREDEX, based in Los Angeles, says it evaluates AI readiness based on four categories: institutional commitment, curriculum, industry partnerships and research. According to AIREDEX, UB has built the kind of AI infrastructure, governance and curriculum that demonstrates a university is “serious about preparing its students for an AI-driven future.”

Its assessment cites UB’s seven interdisciplinary AI degrees that launched last fall. More than 200 students have already enrolled in these new majors, which is supported by the new Department of AI and Society. The degrees follow a first-of-their-kind “AI + X” model, combining AI with academic disciplines such as logic, communication and economics. The university also provides students with a growing in-house suite of AI tools through its BullsAI platform, the assessment notes. 

“Buffalo did not arrive at this tier by accident,” AIREDEX’s assessment reads. “A [chief AI officer] with real authority, a dedicated AI institute pulling in eight-figure federal grants, a supercomputer hosted on its own campus, and seven bachelor's degrees built around AI in a single admissions cycle do not happen without sustained institutional intent.”

UB students’ access to computing power was another major factor in the assessment. The university is home to the shared supercomputer for Empire AI, a $500 million statewide consortium launched by Gov. Kathy Hochul that leverages AI to address societal challenges. Construction on a permanent supercomputing facility on the North Campus is expected to be completed by the end of 2027. 

UB was also given credit for its AI governance and leadership. AIREDEX notes that UB has a dedicated chief AI officer in Govindaraju and numerous other AI leadership roles, including those within the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, Generative AI Task Force and newly established Office of AI Innovation and Integration. 

The assessment also highlighted UB’s funding for AI research. UB received a $20 million grant in 2023 from the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education to establish the National AI Institute for Exceptional Education. The institute is using AI to aid the nearly 3.4 million children in the U.S. with communications and language challenges. It also received $10 million in federal funding to lead new national center on early literacy and responsible AI.