Fall 2024 Semester in Review
This past fall, Enterprise Technology renewed its goals of tackling large-scale issues and contributing to social good by launching new tools, initiatives, events and more to help shape the current digital landscape into a future-proof, AI-enhanced ecosystem.
By the Numbers
The fall 2024 “By the Numbers” report shows progress in scaling, serving, learning, protecting and thriving at ASU. It not only tells us how well our teams did but provides qualitative figures for their accomplishments.
Fall 2024 semester recap: Key stories
Network upgrades and broadband mapping are improving not only how ASU conducts research but also how we tackle digital equity gaps across Arizona. At the same time, cutting-edge AI tools are deployed alongside ethical evaluation frameworks to enhance learning and working environments while minimizing unintended bias. Meanwhile, our dedicated cybersecurity teams remain vigilant as they work to protect the University's information systems in an increasingly data-reliant world.
Explore these accomplishments and other highlights in Enterprise Technology's Semester in Review.
1. Powering a connected campus and community
If these walls could talk…a story of network transformation
From advancing cutting-edge X-ray science to discovering COVID-19 sequences, the research taking place inside Biodesign Institute Building C on the Tempe campus at Arizona State University is evident upon entering. However, another story of transformation is underway, hidden inside the walls: network upgrades are being deployed across the university’s campus to handle high-speed, high-volume data transfer.
Where the internet ends: Broadband maps illuminate Arizona’s access gaps
Access to the Internet is more than a convenience – it is a gateway to essential services, yet for many in Arizona, reliable Internet remains out of reach. The story of broadband access is told in great detail through the latest iteration of maps released by AZ-1, with support from the Maricopa County Broadband Initiative (MCBI). These maps offer a detailed look at internet access across the state, revealing where digital gaps persist and where efforts are most needed to bridge them.
2. AI innovations
ASU reporters are paving the future for investigative journalism using AI
Professional journalists and reporters play an essential part in holding the powerful accountable, and in today’s media climate, trust and cooperation come at a premium. Within that context, students at the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at Arizona State University (ASU) are incorporating generative artificial intelligence (AI) and ChatGPT into their work.
Evaluation framework sets a new benchmark for ethical AI
Though the upside of generative artificial intelligence (AI) is tremendous, Enterprise Technology's AI Acceleration team is safeguarding against AI’s potential downsides – namely, biases related to race, gender and class that can arise from how custom GPTs are trained. As such, they have recently released an evaluation framework to set a new standard for the use of ethical AI.
Now available: ASU rolls out new AI tools
ASU is harnessing the power of transformative AI tools to elevate our creativity and sharpen our problem-solving skills. Aligned with our commitment to innovation, ASU will offer faculty and staff a variety of AI tool licenses in fall of 2024, including ChatGPT Edu, Google Gemini, Copilot Chat and more.
3. Cybersecurity Awareness Month
Cybersecurity spotlight: Meet the engineer defending Sun Devils’ data
Have you ever wondered who protects your information during a data breach, responding in real-time to prevent Sun Devils from falling victim to cyber threats? One of these talented individuals is Senior Cybersecurity Operations Engineer Bri Mascheri, who joined Enterprise Technology after her time in the defense industry, including the armed forces and defense partners.
Cybersecurity versus cyberattacks: How emerging technologies have complicated the ‘cyber war’
Explore a Q&A with Katina Michael, professor of innovation systems at the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence at Arizona State University. Her decades of work include investigating the complexity of the cybersecurity ecosystem, the multiple stakeholders and their entanglements, the human factors and the social implications of cybersecurity.
4. Community events
Collaboration and creativity at the forefront of ASU’s AI community of practice
Operating under the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, an assortment of cross-disciplinary and cross-enterprise faculty and staff from across ASU convened for the AI Community of Practice (AICOP), sharing knowledge about artificial intelligence (AI) and brainstorming ways to use it in the future.
ASU Accessibility Awareness Day advocates a more inclusive digital future
As technology continues to drive learning and research innovations, so do efforts to ensure digital products and environments are accessible to all. ASU hosted Accessibility Awareness Day 2024 – an annual event put together by the Universal Design and Accessible Technology Working Group. Nearly 750 individuals — including faculty, staff, students and community members — registered to attend in-person or online.
Navigating data in an AI world
ASU hosted its eighth annual Data Conference, a two-day event that delved into data, analytics, and many of the tools and processes surrounding them. The theme — Navigating Data in an AI World — was brought to life through a series of keynotes and sessions, including insights from industry leaders and ASU vendor partners like AWS, Tableau, Snaplogic and more.