Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Students Solve Business Problems with Artificial Intelligence

Students in the Computer Information Systems Technology course at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College are working on artificial intelligence-based solutions to increase business efficiency. As part of the program conducted at the Harrison County campus, local businesses present their concrete problems to the students.

The Computer Information Systems Technology course, currently in its second semester at the Harrison County campus, focuses on data analysis, data preparation, and model selection to increase business efficiency. Instructor Vic Gauthreaux stated that the program allows local businesses to present specific problems for students to solve using artificial intelligence workflows. Starting with seven students in the spring of 2026, the course now has 11 students enrolled.

Dr. Kollin Napier, Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer at the Mississippi AI Network, addressed concerns that artificial intelligence would lead to job displacement, comparing the impact of the technology to the introduction of spreadsheets or radiology technology into our lives. Napier stated that this transformation would shift human roles toward supervision and reasoning rather than replacing workers. Both Napier and Gauthreaux emphasized that students are held to high ethical standards regarding the responsible use of artificial intelligence and business security guidelines.