San Diego County Gains First Public AI Training Lab

The City Heights Community Development Corporation is opening a computer lab this month that will give San Diego County residents direct access to artificial intelligence software. The facility aims to close the gap between local workers and the technology tools often reserved for universities and large corporations.

The nonprofit built the space specifically for anyone in the county who wants to learn new AI software. It is the first lab in the region dedicated to introducing residents to programs they might not otherwise afford or access.

Instructors at the lab will teach students how to apply AI to daily tasks. Lessons will cover simple applications like personal budgeting. They will also address more complex goals, such as building models to secure small business loans.

The curriculum includes training on specific programs like Co-Pilot and Claude. Workshop attendees said the hands-on experience is vital as the technology changes rapidly.

Austin Roth, a workshop attendee, said the practical training helps him prepare for the next steps in his life. "I just know AI is evolving so much, so just getting as much hands on as I can, um, to help me with, where I go next in life," Roth said.

Joseph Johnson, another attendee, noted that the training fills a void for aspiring entrepreneurs. "It's tailored toward the someone who's trying to, um, have run their own business with AI and there's not really a lot of classes out there that are set up to for that kind of audience," Johnson said.

Angel Stancer, the corporation's vice president of workforce development and community impact, said these learning environments have historically been out of reach for local residents. "We see that these types of environments have been reserved for academia and uh maybe some more places that our residents don't necessarily have access to," Stancer said.

The lab will be open to the public before the end of the year. Stancer said the facility will offer standalone 90-minute workshops for residents. It also includes a robotics room where people can interact with emerging technologies.