By
Sean O’Brien - Associate Vice President, NET+, Internet2
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
The world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly evolving, and the Internet2 NET+ program is committed to helping the Research and Education (R&E) community adapt to this changing landscape.
These AI updates highlight how we’re actively exploring new AI-focused initiatives, from service evaluations and community engagement to training opportunities and access facilitation. Explore the linked resources below and join us—your input and participation will ensure our efforts are aligned with community needs as we navigate the exciting world of AI together.
We want to hear from you! Reach out to us with any questions or feedback. Check out some key AI updates below.
Evaluating AI Gateways: The PortKey Service Evaluation
We’re excited to be conducting a service evaluation for PortKey, an innovative AI gateway. An AI gateway is a centralized platform that enables users to access multiple large language models (LLMs) through a unified interface. This provides seamless model selection, usage management, and security controls. Stay tuned for updates on our findings as we evaluate PortKey’s capabilities and how it may serve the needs of the R&E community.
We’ve established a dedicated Community of Practice to recognize collaboration and knowledge sharing in the rapidly evolving field of generative AI. This wiki serves as a hub for R&E institutions to join working groups, service evaluations, training opportunities, and more. With participation from 65+ institutions and 200+ members, these NET+ resources address generative AI’s ethical and practical implications while supporting community-driven innovation in AI adoption.
Streamlining Access: Echo Labs Provisional Agreement
We’re pleased to announce a pre-service evaluation agreement with Echo Labs, an AI accessibility company that develops assistive technologies. These services include AI-driven captioning, text-to-speech, and adaptive interfaces to help individuals with disabilities navigate digital content more effectively. This NET+ program agreement simplifies how institutions explore and evaluate Echo Labs’ offerings. Sign up today and discover how Echo Labs can enhance your institution’s AI capabilities!
Engaging Through Events: Webinars and Town Halls
We’ve been actively hosting webinars and town halls to keep our community informed about the latest advancements in AI. Recent events include:
Exploring Available Services: The Cloud Scorecard and Beyond
The Internet2 Cloud Scorecard features a growing number of AI-powered services, including:
We encourage you to check out their Scorecard listings to see how these services may align with your institution on compliance measures like accessibility, security, and privacy. If you’re considering other AI services for your institution, please share your recommendations by referring vendors to enroll in the Cloud Scorecard!
Internet2 CLASS Training Opportunities: Past, Present, and Future
We’re committed to providing valuable training opportunities to our community to help you make the most of AI, and we continue to expand our offerings to meet the evolving needs of the R&E community. Upcoming sessions will explore:
- Federated Learning for Multi-Institutional Collaboration
- Advanced Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
- AI for Research Computing and Large Scale Data Simulations
You can expect these sessions to provide insights into AI applications specific to R&E and equip institutions with the knowledge and skills needed to leverage AI effectively.
Keep an eye on the CLASS Events Schedule and other for more information about these upcoming opportunities! If you have an AI training session in mind that would be helpful for your institution, please connect with us.
The Future of AI at Internet2 NET+
This is just a snapshot of our current activities in the AI space. We’re exploring new opportunities, evaluating emerging technologies, and engaging with our community to shape the future of AI in research and education. Many NET+ services are leveraging AI in their existing products, and we look forward to supporting the community through these developments. As our work continues, you can expect additional service evaluations, expanded engagement pathways, and more AI training!
Stay Connected
To stay informed about our latest work with AI, please visit our Community AI Initiatives wiki or reach out to us with any questions or suggestions. We look forward providing more AI updates and continuing this journey with you!
About the Author(s)
Sean O’Brien leads Internet2’s NET+ cloud service program working with institutions on the collaborative development, evaluation, and management of cloud services for the research and education community. He has worked in a variety of roles in higher education and the private sector focusing on cloud enablement, institutional research, and project management.