Report by Neil Kleiman, Eric Gordon, and Mai-Ling Garcia: “As governments and communities across the United States struggle to make sense of artificial intelligence, one of the most capable—and underutilized—partners is often hiding in plain sight: local colleges and universities. Much of the public conversation about AI focuses on big tech companies or federal regulation. Meanwhile, far less attention has been paid to how higher education institutions can help cities and nonprofits deploy AI to serve residents and strengthen public trust.
Across the United States, higher education institutions are already governing AI internally, experimenting with operational use cases, and absorbing unprecedented investment to build technical capacity. And as the appetite for an AI-trained workforce blossoms, local colleges are now a prime pipeline for talent. At the same time, local governments and nonprofits are just beginning to respond to and translate AI’s promise into public value.
This asymmetry presents a clear gap: Colleges and universities are increasingly adept at deploying AI, but the connection between local communities and higher ed remains underdeveloped.
This brief argues that AI has created a rare institutional opening to bridge the divide. Colleges are seeking clearer public relevance, governments require technical capacity, and communities are demanding institutions that are more responsive and trustworthy. Local leaders from governors to nonprofit executives who recognize this alignment—and act on it—can shape how AI strengthens democratic infrastructure rather than allowing it to evolve according to purely academic or commercial priorities…(More)”.
