AI 305 Conference spotlights FIU’s role in Miami’s AI revolution

With Miami positioning itself as a hub for technology and innovation, FIU Business hosted its first-ever AI 305 Conference September 12, bringing industry heavyweights and academic leaders together to explore how artificial intelligence is transforming business, healthcare and beyond.

Karlene Cousins, chair of FIU Business’s Department of Information Systems, said AI 305 was created to highlight South Florida as a rising hub for artificial intelligence—showcasing real-world AI applications while giving students hands-on experiences and direct access to the industry leaders driving innovation across the region.

“Our students are the AI natives, and we want them to leave here inspired and prepared to lead in this AI-driven economy,” said Cousins who co-chaired the conference with Carrie Sanchez, assistant teaching professor of information systems and business analytics.

“AI 305 is more than a conference. It’s a celebration of collaboration,” said Sanchez. “By bringing together industry partners, local restaurants, FIU’s colleges, faculty, staff, and our wider community, we’re not just discussing artificial intelligence, we’re building the ecosystem that will shape its future and ensure that innovation benefits everyone.”

That collaborative spirit was evident throughout the conference. Attendees encountered robots and drones from the Applied Research Center at the FIU College of Engineering and Computing, demonstrations of AI-powered healthcare tools sponsored by the FIU College of Medicine and even a signature cocktail crafted using artificial intelligence from the FIU Bacardi Center of Excellence at the Chaplin School of Hospitality.

In a keynote address, President Jeanette M. Núñez heralded the university’s commitment to becoming an “AI-first institution,” emphasizing that higher education must prepare graduates to lead in a world reshaped by rapid advances in artificial intelligence.

“We stand at the forefront of one of the most transformative eras in human history, the age of artificial intelligence,” Núñez said. “The future is right now as we’re seeing it play out in real time. It’s changing the way we work, the way we learn, the way we heal, and even the way we imagine what’s possible.”

The sold-out conference featured industry leaders from Meta, Amazon Web Services, Google and more. Panels highlighted AI’s growing role in advertising, hospitality, healthcare and education, while also tackling issues of workforce readiness, infrastructure and ethics.

Google executive Andy Luc (MIS ’08), global head of core infrastructure and reporting, trust and safety shared the company’s approach to setting and enforcing standards for their products, including the use of generative AI, automation and machine learning to prevent policy violations like using Google products to mine for cryptocurrency.

“Traditional machine learning algorithms identify policy violating activity, and then we also have human experts,” said Luc. “Now with Gen AI, we see that the bad actors are now doing things at scale, so we have to meet them where they are.”

For FIU, the conference also served as a showcase for its own AI initiatives. Núñez highlighted the university’s research in areas ranging from hurricane damage detection to Alzheimer’s and pediatric cancer diagnostics, as well as its partnerships with Baptist Health and Nicklaus Children’s Hospital.

“We must leverage AI in our research in ways that are ethical, trustworthy and groundbreaking,” Núñez said. “At FIU, we’re committed to ensuring students not only embrace AI as a tool of the present but also develop the critical thinking skills to lead responsibly in the AI era.”

Last year, FIU Business launched AI360°, a college initiative that integrates AI across research, industry and education creating new a new BBA in Business Analytics and AI and AI specializations in its Master of Science in Information Systems and Master of Science in Health Informatics & Analytics programs. The college also offers executive education in AI strategy to help South Florida companies remain competitive.

Next year’s AI 305 Conference is scheduled for September 18, 2026. View photos from the 2025 conference HERE and check back soon for conference videos.