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UMass Amherst Information Technology has announced that the UMass GenAI Platform, a dedicated service for UMass Amherst faculty, staff, and students to explore leading AI tools in a secure, customized environment rooted in university values, is now available for beta use to the campus community. 

Developed by UMass IT and the Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, the UMass GenAI Platform employs a familiar chat interface to allow users to toggle between models including Anthropic, Meta and OpenAI, to see how each interprets the same prompt. All data is protected, and chats are not reviewed or used to train external systems. 

The platform already enables faculty and staff to build and share custom AI “agents,” such as course assistants or chat bots. Its customizable back end gives users more opportunities to experiment, which can lead to a deeper understanding of how the technology works and how it can be adapted to their needs. As new tools and use cases emerge, the AI services team is available to help refine and scale them for broader use across campus. 

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While select student groups have already piloted the platform through courses and summer programs, the IT team is now scaling the infrastructure to support thousands of new users. 

“AI will only be as powerful as the trust we build around it,” says Christopher Misra, vice chancellor for information technology and CIO. “We want every member of our community to feel they have a place in the AI future. The GenAI Platform is how UMass leads by example.” 

To access the UMass Gen AI Platform, visit https://www.umass.edu/it/genai/platform. The complete story of its development, as well as testimonials from those who have already used it, can be found on the IT News webpage.