Students: Yuguo Wang, Kaitlyn Alsina, and Patrick Gawienczuk
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jasmine McNealy, UF College of Journalism and Communications
Students led the Rural x AI + Policy workshop series, exploring how artificial intelligence intersects with water use and data systems through the lens of policy frameworks and community engagement. Focusing on Gulf region communities, they also expanded the investigation to consider water-related impacts of AI in rural areas across the U.S. and globally.
Throughout the project, students took charge of planning the workshops, creating educational materials, facilitating sessions, conducting policy research, and capturing detailed documentation of the workshop’s outcomes.
Why It Matters
Water is a vital resource in the Gulf region and a critical factor for AI infrastructure such as data centers, which require substantial water use for cooling. This workshop helped students and community members understand these complex relationships and explore policy approaches that balance technological innovation with environmental sustainability.
By engaging in this project, students developed social responsibility and ethical reasoning skills, learning to think critically about technology’s role in society and the environment, especially in rural communities.