Wyoming's AI Challenge: Empowering Everyone

Published Date : 03/11/2025 

The University of Wyoming is leading the charge in artificial intelligence, with initiatives aimed at making AI accessible and beneficial for all, from students to local businesses. 

When now outgoing University of Wyoming President Ed Seidel wanted to test a new artificial intelligence system fed with data about university regulations, he posed a straightforward question: Does the president have to take care of a horse if it comes to Prexy's Pasture? Prexy's Pasture is a popular grassy area on campus, and yes, at the University of Wyoming, horse care is a designated presidential duty.

“That's, like, in the regulations,” Seidel said. “And I assumed it was an easy test. But it actually said ‘no.’ I'm like, ‘What? No?’ And then it explained, because the president has the authority to delegate that duty to anyone on campus. And so it was really sophisticated in its answer.”

The AI system, developed by computer science professor Lars Kotthoff using open-source large language models plugged into all the university's regulations, had found truth in what had become a campus urban legend. More significantly, it showed how artificial intelligence could reach into every corner of a university’s operations and glean insights.

Now, as Seidel prepares to step down from the presidency at the end of the 2026 spring semester and Kotthoff is on sabbatical in Paris before taking a position at St. Andrews — the oldest university in Scotland — the pair says AI is already everywhere and has revolutionary potential for UW and Wyoming. The university even offers a Master of Science degree in artificial intelligence, describing the field as “rapidly transforming society.”

As he winds down his presidency, Seidel continues to champion AI development across the state and sees the technology's emergence as part of a long arc, stretching back to the 1950s, around the time he was born. But when chatbots hit the scene about three years ago, everything accelerated — in commerce, creativity, and across college campuses.

“It was astonishing what they could do,” Seidel said. “And so, we immediately had working groups to start looking at it and really realized we need to bring this to every student and work with different groups across the state, because it's going to have a lot of impact.”

That realization led to Wyoming's AI initiative. In September, the university announced nearly $9 million in funding — $6.25 million in commitments from donors and industry matched by $2.5 million in state money — to advance AI innovation across Wyoming.

“This investment reflects our commitment to positioning Wyoming as a leader in AI,” Seidel said in announcing the initiative. “By combining state-of-the-art research with real-world applications across energy, agriculture, health care, and more, we are empowering our students, faculty, communities, and industries to thrive in an AI-driven future.”

The money came after a thoughtful approach from state legislators, Seidel said. “‘Well, let's give you $2.5 million, with the requirement that it be matched with non-public funding, to just sort of see what you can do with that,’” he said the Legislature’s message was. “And so our idea was we wanted some funding to attract companies or other organizations like the city of Laramie or the hospital or whatever it was to work with the university to explore how AI could be used to support their business or their industry.”

The response from Wyoming companies was enthusiastic across the board, he said. “I don't think there was a single company that we spoke to that wasn't enthusiastic about working with us,” Seidel said. “And so I hope this is just the beginning to grow our impact on the state and our partnerships with companies. So I'm very optimistic about that.”

One particularly promising partnership involves Safran, a French aerospace company. “They anticipate bringing in as many as 200 staff members in the next couple of years,” Seidel said. “And they're very interested in applying AI technologies to their entertainment systems that they make for airline companies — Boeing and Airbus and so on.”

The academic world's initial reaction to AI tools like ChatGPT has often been defensive, Seidel acknowledged, with faculty groups focusing on how to prevent students from cheating. “Let's just say it's obviously a very disruptive technology,” he said. “And so there are going to be lots of reactions.”

Like the technology itself, humans — especially students — are constantly gathering new input, building on information bit by bit and growing a knowledge base. “In the old days, I remember when calculators came out and they were forbidden in classrooms because you're supposed to be able to do long division,” said Seidel. “But does anyone really need to do that anymore?”

Now, like calculators, AI should be accessible to all students, said Seidel, regardless of their economic circumstances. “We are looking at developing in-house models, and we are playing with them, and we're also looking at licenses that we might pay for with companies like OpenAI or with Google and others,” he said. “And so we're still negotiating that and looking at what would be the best. But we want to bring these tools to everybody, whether they can afford them or not.”

The imperative is clear, Seidel said. “If you don't have access to it, you're going to be disadvantaged,” he said. “And I'm thinking particularly about two different things. I want our students to have the training that they need to enter the workforce. And increasingly, that's going to be absolutely required for them.”

Seidel sees more faculty becoming more fluent in AI “so that they're able to advance their research or use it in the classroom more effectively, or to be more competitive in getting external funding.”

Kotthoff, who served as an associate professor at UW from 2017 through September, used a homegrown visual when explaining the playing field for AI these days. When it comes to the generative AI systems like ChatGPT and Claude, which dominate the headlines, in Kotthoff’s analogy those are like the town of Jackson. That’s because Jackson is flashy, attractive to investors, and it’s not representative of the rest of Wyoming.

Kotthoff tells his classes that beyond the spotlight trained on ChatGPT and Claude, there is 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS): 

Q: What is the significance of Prexy's Pasture in the context of AI at the University of Wyoming?

A: Prexy's Pasture is a popular grassy area on the University of Wyoming campus where the president has a designated duty to care for horses. This duty was used as a test case for an AI system developed by computer science professor Lars Kotthoff, which correctly identified that the president can delegate this duty, demonstrating the AI's sophistication.

Q: How much funding has the University of Wyoming received for AI initiatives?

A: The University of Wyoming has received nearly $9 million in funding for AI initiatives, including $6.25 million in commitments from donors and industry matched by $2.5 million in state money.

Q: What is the University of Wyoming's approach to making AI accessible to all students?

A: The University of Wyoming is committed to making AI accessible to all students, regardless of their economic circumstances. They are developing in-house models and exploring licenses with companies like OpenAI and Google to ensure that all students have the necessary tools and training to succeed in an AI-driven future.

Q: What is Lars Kotthoff's new position, and where will he be based?

A: Lars Kotthoff will be taking a position at St. Andrews, the oldest university in Scotland. He will be based in Paris for research before teaching begins next summer, continuing his interdisciplinary work in AI.

Q: What is the traveling salesperson problem, and how does AI help solve it?

A: The traveling salesperson problem involves finding the most efficient route through multiple cities. AI can dramatically reduce the time required to solve this problem, potentially going from taking a year of student time to just a few hours with the help of a large language model. 

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