Program encourages manufacturers, workers to embrace AI technology
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Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
Georgia Tech is touting a program designed to equip manufacturing workers with artificial intelligence and other emerging tech skills.
Why it matters: AI is already integrated in our everyday lives, and companies are exploring ways to use that technology to streamline operations. Knowing how to use it could help you get or keep a job.
Catch up quick: The Georgia Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing program, or AIM, was one of 21 winners in the $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge competition.
- Georgia AIM, backed by the Georgia Tech Research Corporation, was awarded $65 million "to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence across the state's legacy industrial sectors."
What they're saying: Donna Ennis, Georgia Tech's director of community engagement and program development and co-director of Georgia AIM, told Axios that the goal is both to help small and mid-sized manufacturers level up their businesses through the use of smart technology, and to build a pipeline of skilled workers who know how to use it, like through high school career pathway programs.
- "We're here to expose individuals to the possibilities of careers in manufacturing, and we're here to help the manufacturers become more competitive overall through the use of technology," Ennis said.
- Since 2022, Georgia AIM has reached more than 3,500 students, 3,500 manufacturers and 650 startup businesses in the state, she said.
Friction point: There have been some challenges along the way, mainly fear among some skeptics that AI will replace jobs.
- Ennis said she's used those opportunities to discuss that the AIM program is all about equipping companies and people with the skills needed to adapt to how technology is changing their industries.
Yes, and: Michael Trigger, a former student at the Georgia Veterans Education Career Transition Resource Center in Warner Robins, learned about AIM through the center.
- He told Axios he enrolled at VECTR because he wanted a career change after driving trucks for several years.
- Trigger took a liking to the Center's AI Robotics Manufacturing Studio, which was developed with the support of Georgia AIM.
- Once he completed the VECTR program, he was accepted as an intern at the Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility on Georgia Tech's campus.
- "It's been a great learning experience for me," he told Axios.
What's next: Ennis said the grant Georgia AIM received runs for four years and while it has secured some funding from the state, it's working on a sustainability plan to maintain the program and a develop a vision for its future.