HoCo youth take on AI

Newsletter for November 14, 2024

A handful of high school seniors in Howard County are getting a different educational experience than their peers. For half of the day, they learn about how to use AI, with an emphasis on deploying it for good. Keep scrolling for details about the program, led by the nonprofit Health Tech Alley in partnership with the Apprenticeship Maryland Program and the local school district.

Plus, a group behind a custom ChatGPT model, designed to ask users clarifying questions that yield more context, won a recent hackathon for the idea. You can read more about it below.

— Kaela, Technical.ly lead reporter in Baltimore and DC

PS: There's still time to cast your votes for the 2024 Technical.ly Awards! The deadline is Nov. 18.

Students are getting hands-on training focused on artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science while conducting their own yearlong research projects and receiving certifications.

Tyese Johnson of Oakland Mills High School applied for the program because she knows AI can also be used in negative contexts — and she wants to avoid being susceptible.

“Being able to protect yourself from it, because you can understand what it does and what it’s there for, is very beneficial,” she told me.

➡️ Learn what the Howard County students are up to here

A group of technologists and civic leaders designed the model at an event organized by Hacks/Hackers, the Real News Network and the Baltimore Beat. The focus involved finding ways to ensure circulating information and news is fair and trustworthy.

Developers behind the custom model, named Curious GeorgePT, said they aimed to remove ambiguity and allow for more targeted responses.

“It’s nothing revolutionary. We’re not trying to build the next ChatGPT, but we are trying to transform how it works and how it operates,” said Paige Moody, an engineering manager creating tools for reporters at the Washington Post. “Because this is disrupting … all of our industries.”

➡️ Learn more about the making of the custom model here

• Voting is now open for our 2024 Technical.ly Awards! Every year, we recognize the region's best people, products and programs. We have brand new categories this year, too. Learn about the finalists and make sure to cast your vote by Nov. 18. [Technical.ly]

• Residents in Baltimore County pushed back at a recent information session about the Piedmont Reliability Project, the 70-mile power transmission line proposed in an effort to reach the region's growing energy demands. The route proposed by the lead on the project, Public Service Enterprise Group, was released in October. [WJZ]

• Maryland elected officials are still hopeful infrastructure projects, including the reconstruction of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, could still be funded under the next Trump administration. [Baltimore Sun]

• Technical.ly CEO Christopher Wink spoke with a few entrepreneurship leaders to get their perspectives on how a second Trump presidency will affect local ecosystems. [Technical.ly]

• Students at Loyola University can now get a "stackable" MBA, in which pupils opt for individual certificates that can stand alone or be incorporated into a full degree. [Loyola]

• Bowery, a New York agricultural technology startup, closed its farm in Baltimore County and laid off 83 of its workers. [Baltimore Business Journal]

As we get ready to celebrate the United States semiquincentennial, let’s look ahead another quarter millennium. Technical.ly’s editorial calendar theme for December will see us exploring optimistic visions for our cities and regions 250 years from now.

It’s guaranteed to be a fascinating and intense discussion, and if you want your company or brand in the mix, now’s the time to think about underwriting this work. Reach up to 75k+ social followers, 45k newsletter subscribers and upwards of 5k+ pageviews with your logo and message — while showing your support for local news.

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