{"id":223592,"date":"2025-10-13T16:03:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T02:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=223592"},"modified":"2025-10-13T16:03:55","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T02:03:55","slug":"aloha-intelligence-initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/10\/13\/aloha-intelligence-initiative\/","title":{"rendered":"New AI<\/abbr> initiative connects research, education, community impact"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"person
Associate Chair and Professor Mahdi Belcaid teaching the professional master\u2019s program in AI<\/abbr>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa Department of Information and Computer Sciences<\/a> (ICS<\/abbr>) has unveiled a new resource designed to showcase and strengthen Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s role in the responsible and ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI<\/abbr>). The Aloha Intelligence Initiative<\/a> (Aii<\/abbr>) brings together cutting-edge UH<\/abbr> research, educational opportunities and community partnerships focused on advancing AI<\/abbr> with local impact and global relevance.<\/p>\n

Hosted on a new interactive website, Aii<\/abbr> highlights dozens of active projects that demonstrate how AI<\/abbr> can be used to improve daily life and decision-making—from natural disaster prediction and healthcare innovation to creative media and cultural preservation. Each project reflects a commitment to building AI<\/abbr> that is human-centered, transparent and rooted in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s values.<\/p>\n

Among the efforts is SAGE3<\/a>, a $5 million national project that develops software and systems to enhance collaboration between people and AI<\/abbr>. The project empowers society to make better decisions, foster creativity and build shared understanding in addressing complex societal and scientific challenges. Other projects include KolokoloChat<\/a>, a chatbot for Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s state judiciary that helps the public access court information; and a student-led agricultural robotics system that earned international recognition for improving farm productivity<\/a>. Additional research explores AI<\/abbr> for astronomy, medical imaging, biodiversity and the revitalization of endangered languages.<\/p>\n

Collaboration and education<\/h2>\n

Aii<\/abbr> also serves as a central hub for collaboration and education. The site outlines pathways for engagement through degree programs, including UH<\/abbr>\u2019s two new graduate-level programs to prepare students and working professionals for high-demand careers in AI<\/abbr> and data science<\/a>, as well as workshops and partnerships with local agencies, nonprofits and businesses. Upcoming events include an AI<\/abbr> literacy workshop series on Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island, and free AI<\/abbr> and data science public lectures at the Walter Dods, Jr<\/abbr>. RISE<\/abbr> Center this fall<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“We built this site to make our work transparent, accessible and locally grounded,” said Guylaine Poisson, ICS<\/abbr> professor and department chair. “AI<\/abbr> has immense potential—especially when designed in partnership with the community and in a responsible way.”<\/p>\n

For more, visit the Aii<\/abbr> website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

ICS<\/abbr> is housed in UH<\/abbr> Mānoa\u2019s College of Natural Sciences<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The website highlights dozens of active projects that demonstrate how AI<\/abbr> can be used to improve daily life and decision-making.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":223593,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[1602,308,541,484,1467,1363,568,9],"class_list":["post-223592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-ai","tag-college-of-natural-sciences","tag-computer-science","tag-information-and-computer-science","tag-manoa-excellence-in-research","tag-manoa-research","tag-natural-science","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/manoa-ics-aloha-intelligence-initiative.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223592"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":223612,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223592\/revisions\/223612"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}