Artificial Intelligence is already shaping daily life. It’s reducing the work we do, helping us find answers more quickly, and some research suggests it has strong capabilities to diagnose illness, perhaps better than doctors. 

But the rise of AI is also accompanied by pessimism and fear. Jobs could be taken and never replaced; our loneliness could worsen; and scholars say our critical thinking abilities are already degrading. Some of these concerns are the context for opposition to data centers, the spaces that house and advance artificial intelligence. Many don’t want them in their backyards.

All of this is happening after Wayne State officially opened its own AI research center in October. 

Ezemenari Obasi is the Vice President for Research & Innovation at Wayne State University and heads the university’s Institute for AI and Data Science. The Metro's Sam Corey spoke with him about why he believes AI can help us solve some of our biggest problems.