Key Takeaways
- • Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel, told a University of Miami audience on Monday that students should learn to use AI rather than fear it, comparing AI literacy to learning English.
- • The talk was a fireside-style chat at Maurice Gusman Concert Hall, part of the Business School's Cobb Leadership Lecture Series, and lasted nearly 90 minutes.
- • Griffin's core message was to "augment human intelligence" and "amplify human potential" with AI rather than compete with it.
- • AI dominated the discussion, which also covered global economic and geopolitical challenges and U.S. fiscal policy.
- • Publisher coverage links the remarks to Griffin's large philanthropic commitments to education, including a gift to Carnegie Mellon University that reports cite at either $2 billion or $3 billion.
Summary
Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of the Miami-based hedge fund Citadel, told University of Miami students that AI should be studied and used, not feared. Speaking on Monday, Griffin argued that the technology will change how people work and live but is unlikely to make humans obsolete, a position he contrasted with warnings from the late physicist Stephen Hawking about the risks of full artificial intelligence. According to the University of Miami News, Griffin said students need exposure to AI and to the ways it can solve problems. "You may never end up using AI very much to speak of in your career. You may use it every single day. But it's like learning English," he said, adding that such tools "are going to be everywhere over the decades to come."
The remarks were delivered at Maurice Gusman Concert Hall on the Coral Gables Campus as part of the Business School's Cobb Leadership Lecture Series. The series endowment was established in 1986 by Ambassador Sue Cobb as a 50th birthday gift for her husband, University of Miami trustee Ambassador Chuck Cobb. Business School Dean Paul Pavlou and students Anjali Nimmagadda and Fred Terezi posed questions during the nearly hour-and-a-half conversation. Griffin also addressed the state of global economic and geopolitical challenges and U.S. fiscal policy, though AI was the dominant theme. He advised students to "augment human intelligence" and "use AI to amplify human potential" rather than compete with the technology.
Publisher coverage places the remarks in the context of Griffin's broader philanthropy in higher education. Reports describe a major gift to Carnegie Mellon University tied to rethinking education for the AI era, with some sources citing $2 billion and others $3 billion for a Miami campus. The figures differ across sources and should be verified against the university's announcement before being relied upon.
The remarks were delivered at Maurice Gusman Concert Hall on the Coral Gables Campus as part of the Business School's Cobb Leadership Lecture Series. The series endowment was established in 1986 by Ambassador Sue Cobb as a 50th birthday gift for her husband, University of Miami trustee Ambassador Chuck Cobb. Business School Dean Paul Pavlou and students Anjali Nimmagadda and Fred Terezi posed questions during the nearly hour-and-a-half conversation. Griffin also addressed the state of global economic and geopolitical challenges and U.S. fiscal policy, though AI was the dominant theme. He advised students to "augment human intelligence" and "use AI to amplify human potential" rather than compete with the technology.
Publisher coverage places the remarks in the context of Griffin's broader philanthropy in higher education. Reports describe a major gift to Carnegie Mellon University tied to rethinking education for the AI era, with some sources citing $2 billion and others $3 billion for a Miami campus. The figures differ across sources and should be verified against the university's announcement before being relied upon.
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