A version of this story first appeared in the Morning Update newsletter. Sign up here to receive the Morning Update and other BDN newsletters directly in your inbox.
Good morning!
We’ve got a nice stretch of weather ahead, with sunny skies on tap for most of the week until clouds move in, along with a chance for rain, this weekend. Temperatures today will range from the high 50s to mid-60s across the state.
The recent rain has done little to quench our dry state, the vast majority of which is now under a moderate drought. Meanwhile, the conditions along the coast haven’t improved, with an extreme drought now stretching from Cumberland County to MDI.
UMaine goes all in on AI amid upcoming layoffs and tech fears
As anxiety about artificial intelligence continues to fuel a bipartisan backlash against data centers, and AI companies talk about slowing down the development of even more powerful tools, the University of Maine is going all in on the tech.
Earlier this year, UMaine signed a $1.4 million contract with OpenAI to make a more secure version of its signature ChatGPT available to students, faculty and staff. So far, just 10% of the university’s population is using it, the vast majority of whom are students.
UMaine doesn’t track how students are using AI, but administrators believe that the deal offers them a chance to get an edge in an economy where AI is increasingly being integrated.
“I think a few years from now, as we get more graduates out into the pool who understand how to use these tools, I think it makes you more marketable,” Vice Chancellor for Finance and Strategic AI Integration Ryan Low told us.
The deal comes as UMaine faces a $19 million budget shortfall that could force layoffs, but Low estimates that AI could save the university $700,000 annually over the life of the two-year contract.
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From the Opinion Page
“The next governor is going to inherit some extraordinarily difficult problems.”