which selected UC students will provide AI coaching and support to UCOP employees.

“The goal is to help employees apply AI effectively to their everyday work,” said UCOP spokesperson Stett Holbrook in an email. “This can include prompting, drafting, document analysis, research and summarization, and simplifying repetitive workflows.”

The AI Student Corps builds on UCOP’s preexisting AI Buddy Program, which pairs UCOP staff of different AI fluency levels with the purpose of developing familiarity and confidence with AI tools. More than 150 staff members have signed up for the AI Buddy Program, according to UCOP.

Unlike the AI Buddy Program, the AI Student Corps is a paid program hiring undergraduate and graduate UC students. Holbrook said UCOP is searching for students who have hands-on experience with AI tools and can apply them responsibly and practically.

While the positions are remote, the “embedded AI Coaches” will hold both one-on-one and small group coaching sessions as well as office hours. The six selected students will be compensated between $25 and $26.39 per hour.

According to Holbrook, student AI coaches will only work with UCOP-approved tools, including ChatGPT Edu, Microsoft Copilot and Zoom AI. In the interest of security, coaches’ user accounts, access to data and use cases will be limited to “only the permissions they need to do their jobs.”

Furthermore, AI coaches will receive training on security, privacy and acceptable use cases. Implemented integrations, automations and workflows must also follow UCOP’s AI, security, privacy and legal review guidelines.

In May, UC President James Milliken announced the formation of a new UC AI steering committee, which has since created five working groups devoted to AI applications in different fields. The steering committee made its first report to the UC Board of Regents in September.

“Much of what we do will be transformed, advanced and disrupted by artificial intelligence,” Milliken said in a May statement. “Across our campuses, academic health centers, and affiliated national labs, the University of California should be at the forefront of this effort as we shape AI’s impact on the future of our state, our country and the world.”