The semiconductor industry has a long history in Arizona. It started with Motorola’s research lab in the 1950s and was followed by the growth of ASM International and Intel’s operations throughout the 1980s and today.
When the Taiwanese chip giant TSMC announced its first U.S. fabrication facilities in Phoenix in 2020, Arizona became the undisputed leader of semiconductor manufacturing and investment in the nation.
Still, those in the industry say there could be more local awareness of the job opportunities and technological advancements that are supported by this industry.
With many artificial intelligence services gaining in popularity and relevance, leaders at Intel approached Arizona State University professor Aviral Shrivastava with an idea.
“There was a call from Intel to organize some community courses,” Shrivastava said. “AI is becoming so popular now, but not a lot of people connect that this AI is actually running on silicon, and there is a huge semiconductor industry that supports this.”
Young people are also showing concerns about being replaced by AI for entry-level positions.
Shrivastava and others involved in designing the program saw it as an important time to “make high school teachers aware of all these job opportunities in this vertical.”
The resulting five-day AI and Semiconductor Summer Institute attracted 17 teachers from all over the East Valley; San Carlos and Fort Thomas reservations; and Stanfield, an unincorporated community in Pinal County.
Each day began with a discussion led by a different expert in the field, followed with an immersive experience in the afternoon. The program was designed to cover the full scope of the AI economy, including how AI chips and models are made and what’s driving the demand for advanced computing at the national and global scale.
On the third day, program participants were also invited to tour Intel's 700-acre fabrication plant in Chandler.
A space for AI-curious minds to connect
Adam Middleton teaches engineering and physics at Red Mountain High School in Mesa. He says he’ll be teaching a new course next year within the school’s Innovation and Design Academy that will have a heavy emphasis on advanced manufacturing.
“I was really excited to learn more from some industry experts, from some higher education experts on what exactly the semiconductor field is like right now in Arizona and how I can use that to support our students,” Middleton said. “Especially students who maybe don’t know what they want to do when they graduate yet with such a huge industry opening up here in their backyard.”
In the back of Room 209 at ASU’s Brickyard Engineering Building, where the program was set to conclude, sat a 12-inch by 12-inch wooden box. Within, an assortment of metal gears and rotors, wires, and a few pieces of jewelry affixed in random patterns invited further investigation. The name Alan Turing was emblazoned in a blue metallic material across the top.
Michele Delgado, an art teacher at Carl Hayden Community High School in Phoenix, created the ofrenda — a type of altar used in the Mexican Dia de Los Muertos tradition — to honor the late Turing.
Turing was an English mathematician who helped crack the German’s Enigma code during World War II. His computations not only gave the Allies the advantage to bring the war to closure, but laid the foundations for the creation of the computer and artificial intelligence.
“He was laying the foundation for neural networks while people were still listening to radios,” Delgado said. “It just goes to show that the capacity for human creativity and technology is not all limited to what is directly in front of you.”
Carl Hayden is known for its focus on science, engineering, math and technology courses. The school rose to national fame when it defeated college teams from MIT in a national underwater robotics competition in 2004. The victory was chronicled in the 2015 movie “Spare Parts,” starring George Lopez and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Delgado says her students are currently exploring AI capabilities in digital animation. But she says some students find it uncomfortable having the AI track their face and record their voice to generate the content.
“AI presents challenges in tools, and you have to kind of get over your personal anxiety to be able to do foundation exercises to learn how it works before you can even be creative,” Delgado said.
Takeaways from the week
In a concluding panel, Shrivastava invited prior guest lecturers, ASU and Intel leaders to reflect on the economic disruptions and opportunities that come with AI advancement.
The participants likened this moment to that of the 1980s and 1990s Dot-Com panic, when the internet was beginning to disrupt certain industries and careers.
In general, the speakers were optimistic about the future of AI and its ability to increase global productivity and create new jobs. They cautioned against believing most doomsday scenarios or other AI hype that is spread on the internet.
The high school teachers in the audience preferred to discuss how some students are losing a sense for learning without AI assistance and that the U.S. school system appears to be stuck in a prior time and is not equipped to handle the rapid advances in technology.
“This is all in a flux, it is so rapidly changing, and both universities and schools are trying to adapt to this,” Shrivastava said.
Although universities like ASU are moving quickly on incorporating AI courses and programs across most departments, Shrivastava said, “it is prudent for high schools and middle schools to be a little slower in changing and be more thoughtful and premeditated.”
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