Work with AI, don’t fear it - University of Miami News

Could the late Stephen Hawking have been right?

Years ago, during an interview with the BBC, the renowned theoretical physicist and cosmologist, who transformed our understanding of the universe, said, “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.”

Today, warnings of AI posing a threat to humanity are pervasive. If anything, the technology will likely not make humans obsolete, but it will change the way people work and live. And students in the nation’s colleges and universities need exposure to it and the ways in which it can solve problems, philanthropist Kenneth C. Griffin, founder and CEO of the multinational Miami-based hedge fund firm Citadel, told a University of Miami audience on Monday.

“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—you need to understand it and be exposed to various ways in which you can use these tools. They are going to be everywhere over the decades to come,” Griffin said.

His fireside-style chat, held at Maurice Gusman Concert Hall on the Coral Gables Campus, was part of the Business School’s Cobb Leadership Lecture Series, an endowment established in 1986 by Ambassador Sue Cobb as a 50th birthday gift to her husband, University of Miami trustee Ambassador Chuck Cobb.

During the nearly hour-and-a-half-long talk, in which Business School Dean Paul Pavlou and students Anjali Nimmagadda and Fred Terezi posed questions, Griffin addressed a range of topics, from the state of economic and geopolitical challenges across the world to U.S. fiscal policy.

But it was the subject of AI that dominated the discussion. While artificial intelligence is broadly embraced in China, he said, the U.S. has approached the technology with deep skepticism, fearing the loss of jobs and raising vehement protests against the building of data centers.

“If we’re going to make good on the promises that we’ve made to people with respect to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and a litany of other federal programs, we’re going to need to grow our economy,” Griffin said. “While AI is one of our best hopes for enhancing productivity, we won’t know definitively whether it can deliver on that promise for years to come.

“When I started my career, we were at the moment of embracing globalization,” Griffin explained. “American companies on the world stage did extraordinarily well, and globalization opened more opportunities around the world.”

But as U.S. companies sought lower production costs, they began relocating labor-intensive manufacturing operations overseas, outsourcing millions of jobs to China.

“Shutting down a factory in the midwest and moving those jobs to China may have created value for shareholders, but we didn’t pay enough attention as a nation to the impact it had on that local community,” said Griffin, noting that the practice resulted in soaring unemployment rates across the Rust Belt.

The U.S., he said, had lost its manufacturing base. “It’s very politically attractive to talk about the ills of globalization, but those jobs aren’t coming back to the United States,” he said. “We may have a manufacturing renaissance in America, but it’s not because people pined for the return of the factory floor of 50 years ago. It’s because the revolution that’s taking place in technology and robotics will make it possible to once again manufacture in the United States high-quality products at a cost-effective price.”

For his part, Pavlou noted that the Business School offers both a major and a minor focused on artificial intelligence through its Department of Business Technology. “Our strategy is simple: leading with AI,” Pavlou said. “Our philosophy is also simple. Don’t compete with AI; augment human intelligence. Use AI to amplify human potential.”

Griffin doled out a wealth of advice to students, urging them to become lifetime learners and to take risks. “That means reading research papers, reading books, finding mentors. Every chance you get, you want to be the person who’s listening to other people’s ideas and perspectives, because you want to be the person learning,” he said. “And if something goes wrong in your 20s, it’s going to be okay. You can deal with the consequences and find your calling. Don’t be risk averse at this moment in life.”

In his introductory remarks, Cobb praised Griffin as “a passionate philanthropist.” Two years ago, Griffin donated $50 million to Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and UHealth – University of Miami Health System. Born out of a long-held hope to eradicate the disease, his landmark gift to the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in South Florida helped fund a new cancer research building named in his honor.

When the 12-story Kenneth C. Griffin Cancer Research Building opened in fall 2025, it doubled Sylvester’s research footprint with an additional 244,000 square feet, allowing the center to accelerate efforts to develop new therapies, enhance patient care and expand access to clinical trials.

For Nimmagadda, who is majoring in finance and business analytics, “getting to personally ask for [Griffin’s] advice and perspective on topics like AI, leadership and the future of Miami was an invaluable experience,” she said. “In my own studies here at UM, I have been challenged to explore the bounds of AI while using it to assist me with assignments and projects. It was reassuring to hear Ken’s thoughts on how we can continue to implement AI within the workplace to enhance our jobs rather than replace them.”

For Terezi, an accounting and finance major, “moderating the conversation with Ken Griffin was an incredible learning experience—one that I’ll remember forever.”