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Jul 29, 2026

USC is betting on an AI education across all its fields of study

Gaurav Sukhatme, director of USC's Stevens School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence and interim dean of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, hopes his and other faculties' expertise in AI can help roll out a campuswide initiative where all students learn alongside the technology's capabilities.

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The Tommy Trojan statue at the University of Southern California.
The Tommy Trojan statue at the University of Southern California.
Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

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The University of Southern California is aiming to integrate AI across its campus, thanks to a $200 million dollar gift from a venture capitalist. Gaurav Sukhatme is the newly appointed director of USC's Stevens School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence and interim dean of the Viterbi School of Engineering. As he showed Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino around his lab, she asked him how the technology will be embedded across all fields of study at USC.

Guarav Sukhatme
Gaurav Sukhatme showcases the humanoids he and his students work with. Their goal is to embed AI capabilities into the robots.
Jesús Alvarado/Marketplace

More on this

“Mark and Mary Stevens give $200 million to power AI research across USC” from the University of Southern California

“Students question value of college as costs rise and AI reshapes jobs” from PBS

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