June 15, 2025
According to Dr. Denise Gregory Jones, JSU’s interim president, the grant represents a step forward in their attempts to serve students and the broader Jackson community.
As part of Mississippi’s $9.1 million investment in higher education to strengthen the state’s future workforce and economic competitiveness, Jackson State University has been awarded a $1.3 million grant to expand education, workforce development, and entrepreneurship in artificial intelligence. The funding comes through Gov. Tate Reeves’ newly launched Mississippi Artificial Intelligence Talent Accelerator Program (MAI-TAP).
According to Dr. Denise Gregory Jones, JSU’s interim president, the grant represents a step forward in their attempts to serve students at the university and the broader Jackson community. “We are grateful for this investment in Jackson State University’s mission to expand access to emerging fields,” Jones Gregory said in the press release. “This grant affirms the quality of our faculty and programs and allows us to give students the knowledge and experience to navigate and contribute to the world they are entering. It’s another step forward in our work to serve students and communities through innovation and opportunity.”
Likewise, Dr. Almesha L. Campbell, the vice president for research and economic development, praised the investment into the university in her own statement.
“We are excited to lead this initiative that will empower Mississippi students, teachers and entrepreneurs to engage in meaningful learning experiences around artificial intelligence,” Campbell said. “This project supports our strategic focus on innovation, workforce development and academic prominence. Through this grant, Jackson State will collaborate with partners to build a model that prepares learners at every level to understand, apply and shape the future of AI.”
According to the press release, Mississippi’s strategy for its AI development centers around five basic principles: investment in human capital infrastructure, building AI and machine learning literacy for citizens of Mississippi, enhancing and upskilling skills for people who are creating new tools and technologies, and supporting AI/machine learning innovation and technology advancement.
According to Action News 5, Reeves previously signed an executive order in January aimed at harnessing AI in Mississippi and issued a statement declaring his intentions that Mississippi emerge as a leader in the field of artificial intelligence.
Despite these actions, however, as Jason Ludwig argued in a 2024 op-ed for Public Books that parts of this platform, particularly the focus on upskilling, can put Black people and other working-class people in a race against each other to learn new skills, when instead people should demand that any new technological innovations be used for the benefit of society at large and not the cottage industries spawned by innovations created for the benefit of capitalism.
Mississippi has been focused on creating a task force for artificial intelligence which would in part, advance AI initiatives without “red tape” which usually means without any meaningful regulation of artificial intelligence.
In an op-ed for Supertalk FM, Rep. Jill Ford said little about making sure the state’s AI initiatives would safeguard citizens through regulations, but seemed disinterested in the idea altogether, instead arguing that the state needs growth, investment and policies that strengthen Mississippi’s economy, more than AI needs regulation.
As Brookings senior fellow Darrell M. West succinctly pointed out, ignoring the need for significant AI regulation doesn’t mean it doesn’t need to happen, particularly given the penchant for current AI systems to reinforce racist attitudes or just make up false and misleading content.
“None of these issues will disappear simply because the current political leadership or Big Tech CEOs say they are not a concern. Ignoring widespread public doubts and documented abuses does not make the problems go away. Magic may be entertaining on stage, but disappearing acts don’t work in real life,” West wrote.
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