By Elizabeth Hernandez
Publication Date: 2026-01-19 13:00:00
Colorado State University has partnered with Microsoft to pilot a university-wide artificial intelligence system similar to ChatGPT that places the land-grant institution at the front of the pack in collaborations between higher education and AI companies.
Unlike ChatGPT, the custom-built CSU-GPT and its forthcoming companion RamGPT were designed on a secure network, CSU administrators said.
That means information submitted by students, staff and faculty will not be used to train Microsoft’s broader large language model, allowing sensitive research and student information to be entered into CSU’s chatbots safely, said Brandon Bernier, vice president for information technology and chief information officer.
“We get this secure, private fence that goes around all of our data so whatever happens here stays here,” Bernier said in an interview. “The models aren’t getting trained on it. All of our institutional data is then protected, and that’s an important thing for our…
