BearcatGPT: UC becomes first Ohio university to offer AI platform

WOSU and other local news outlets highlighted BearcatGPT, the University of Cincinnati's private AI platform for students, faculty and staff. 

UC Vice President Bharath Prabhakaran spoke to WOSU's “All Sides with Amy Juravich“ about the first AI platform of its kind launched by a university in Ohio.

BearcatGPT was unveiled to faculty last year and to students in February, allowing UC users to create dozens of tools for use as study guides, tutoring and digital assistants. It's the first private AI platform developed by a university in Ohio and among the first in the nation.

“Think of it like a walled garden,“ Prabhakaran told host Amy Juravich. “The data we share within BearcatGPT is not pushed outside to train other large language models.“

Prabhakaran said UC faculty already have developed more than 100 custom agents within the platform.

Tutoring was a priority, he said.

“I was an engineering student way back when and calculus was my Achilles' heel,“ he said. “But calculus is a prerequisite for engineering. And that's really where most of our first-year students struggle is math. So we started with calculus and statistics.“

WLWT5 and Spectrum News One explained how UC developed new agents such as Bearcat Study Pal, Bearcat Test-Prepper, and Bearcat Genius to help students with their studies.

“It gives the UC community access to a suite of private AI tools that does not require sharing data in the public domain,“ said Bharath Prabhakaran, UC vice president and chief digital officer.

The private AI platform is brand new to students. WCPO spoke to students such as Conner Menard, who is studying international affairs, about generative AI.

“I'm technically a first-gen college student, so there are things about this experience I don't understand, so I feel like AI can be good at consolidating information like that,“ Menard told WCPO.

UC is a leader in responsible and ethical AI, with years of experience and collaboration with agencies such as the U.S. Department of Defense. Faculty such as Aerospace Engineering Professor Kelly Cohen have led the nation in developing explainable, transparent AI that has helped revolutionize applications in medicine, biosensors, aviation and robotics.

“It is our responsibility to make sure we embrace the changes that are coming in the next iteration of higher education,” said Josette Riep, PhD, UC's associate vice president of integrated data, engineering & application services. “We want to be change agents and leaders in this space. And thanks to people like Dr. Cohen, I think we are.”

Riep said more than two years of development have gone into providing guardrails to ensure BearcatGPT is responsible and equitable. Queries and content are private. Feedback from UC's AI enablement community of practice allows the platform to evolve with governance oversight that continually assesses and informs.

“Community impact is key,“ Riep said. “Data in BearcatGPT does not leave UC's environment. That’s critical when you’re talking about intellectual property, contracts or other materials.”

With nearly 100 tailored applications already, UC faculty are developing new agents every month.

Featured image at top: News media highlighted UC's private AI platform, Bearcat GPT. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC