A conversation with Vasileios Maroulas on Tennessee’s AI future
At last week’s AI Tennessee Summit, it was clear that the University of Tennessee, Knoxville intends to keep our state at the lead of the AI race.
Driving this charge is Vasileios Maroulas, a professor of mathematics and the Associate Vice Chancellor leading the AI Tennessee Initiative.
We interviewed Dr. Maroulas at the summit to discuss his transition into this pivotal role and his strategy for bringing radical AI collaboration to every corner of Tennessee.
Q: How did your journey in computational statistics lead you to heading the AI Tennessee Initiative?
“I’ve been with the University for 16 years. I love the university. I love the energy. I love our students and the community. My background is in computational statistics, what we call data science, or ‘the AI of things’.
After reaching a certain step in my career, I wanted to give back to the community and the students. I was looking to step into a role that would be fundamental for the growth of our community.
Lynne Parker established AI Tennessee, and I had the honor to be mentored by her as her deputy. About a year and a half later, she was called back to action at the White House. As she retired from the University and moved into the White House, I stepped into this role.
Fast forward two years now, we are at this summit with 600 people talking about radical AI collaboration.”
Q: Radical collaboration has been a major theme at this summit. How is AI Tennessee moving that concept from a talking point into a tangible reality?
“Actually, we are doing it already by what you are seeing at this summit. It embodies the result of all these conversations that have been taking place over the years.
For example, we’re working very closely with the state government and the Tennessee AI Advisory Council to ensure that the benefits of AI reach every single corner of the state.
At the end of the day, the University of Tennessee is a land-grant university. That means we have a mission for every single Tennessean to benefit from artificial intelligence.
Nobody can do this alone. The spirit of growth comes from industry. The talent pipelines are generated within universities. You need the state government so that the impact reaches every single corner of the state.”
Q: The summit has covered how the next generation will have AI embedded into their upbringing and school curriculum. What is the strategy for supporting AI adoption within the existing workforce?
“With AI Tennessee, we meet people where industry needs us. We cannot create a blanket, one-size-fits-all AI curriculum to serve all industries.
We need specific industries to reach out and say, ‘I would like to up-skill mid-career folks.’ Then we can ask, ‘Where do you have data challenges that AI can surgically be deployed?’
We use data to tailor a plan and answer these questions. Mid-level career folks then see the benefit of AI on the fly and from data directly applicable to their industry. It speaks exactly to their operational decisions.”
Q: For companies ready to lean into AI adoption, how can AI TechX help?
“AI TechX is AI Tennessee’s industry consortium that launched last year in March. We launched it for three things:
- Industry-led challenges are met with AI solutions in collaboration with our researchers at the University of Tennessee and all of our other partners around the state.
- Workforce development. Whatever questions the industry has, we will go wherever they need us and provide a solution.
- Entrepreneurship. We bring innovators, startups, and small businesses to the same table. This allows for collaboration with larger enterprises that are part of our AI TechX, like Google, IBM, Cisco, or Volkswagen. They’ll understand how a Fortune 500 works, and then understand how to scale up with AI. But as startups get mentorship, there’s always a chance that a larger company acquires or invests in them. We try to create bi-directional ways of success and innovation across the state.”
Q: Looking beyond the technical side, what is the “human” element of the AI race that you want Tennesseans to understand?
“We have to treat artificial intelligence not as a tool anymore. We hear about winning the AI race, and that race is so multifaceted. It does not just mean becoming better at AI.
It’s more about how our region can attract businesses that develop their own AI and are pursuing AI innovation. Yes, we need to understand AI’s computational infrastructure and data centers, which we certainly need more of. But we also must understand the humans behind AI. Humans are the ones deploying AI within their operations, which means they are understanding, adopting, and becoming better digital citizens.”
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