Intel partners with Dell on AI security as Anthropic unveils Claude

Key Takeaways

• SIU Carbondale will offer a Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence Plus starting fall 2026, requiring a minor in another field.
• North Carolina A&T State University became the first university to offer a standalone AI undergraduate degree.
• 35 percent of companies now require AI skills, more than double from fall 2025.
• The Australian Signals Directorate released guidance on securing agentic AI systems, warning against broad access to sensitive data.
• Gigamon research found AI is involved in 83 percent of security breaches, with breach rates rising 18 percent annually.
• Dell and Intel are partnering on security for AI factory data centers, focusing on data poisoning and exfiltration threats.
• The self-checkout market is projected to grow from $2.54 billion in 2025 to over $5 billion by 2030, despite retail rollbacks.
• Anthropic executive Boris Cherny predicts coding will become a common skill like reading, not just a profession.
• A union leader criticized an AI tool from Tassel for reading student names at a high school graduation, arguing it prioritizes efficiency over identity.
• Japanese lawmakers are urging the US to focus on AI and critical minerals agreements during upcoming US-China talks.

SIU Carbondale first public Illinois university to offer AI Plus degree

Southern Illinois University Carbondale will offer a Bachelor of Science degree in Artificial Intelligence Plus starting fall 2026. It is the first public university in Illinois to do so and joins fewer than a dozen universities nationwide. The program teaches AI technology while requiring a minor in a field like art, business, or journalism. Students take 49 credit hours of core AI courses plus 12 hours of major electives and a 12-hour minor. Dean Frank Liu said the interdisciplinary approach fills an educational need and gives SIU a competitive edge.

SIU Carbondale launches new AI Plus bachelor degree program

Southern Illinois University Carbondale announced a new bachelor's degree in artificial intelligence called AI Plus. The program starts this fall and teaches students how to build AI tools and apply them in real industries. Dean Frank Liu said the degree pairs AI learning with a required minor in another field. He noted that AI is creating jobs and making work easier, not just taking jobs away. The program aims to fill the gap between AI technology and its practical use in companies.

North Carolina A and T offers first standalone AI bachelor degree

North Carolina A and T State University became the first university to offer a standalone undergraduate degree in artificial intelligence. Students can choose between an engineering and computing track or an applied AI track. A recent report found that 35 percent of companies now require AI skills, more than double from fall 2025. Experts say students should focus on soft skills like creativity and empathy to compete with AI. The university designed the curriculum to evolve as technology changes.

Government agencies demand stronger security for agentic AI systems

The Australian Signals Directorate and other agencies released guidance on securing agentic AI systems. Agentic AI can act autonomously, creating new security risks for organizations. A Rubrik survey found 88 percent of Australian organizations expect AI agents to outpace their security safeguards. The guidance recommends never giving AI agents broad access to sensitive data or critical systems. It also warns that agentic AI inherits vulnerabilities from large language models, like prompt injection attacks.

Union leader criticizes AI tool for reading names at high school graduation

An Arlington Public Schools union leader objected to Washington-Liberty High School using AI to read student names at graduation. The AI tool from company Tassel is meant to avoid name mispronunciations. Parent June Prakash, who is also the union president, spoke against the plan at a school board meeting. She said using AI can send the message that efficiency matters more than identity. Previously, school faculty read off student names.

Gigamon research finds AI involved in 83 percent of security breaches

Gigamon published research showing AI is involved in 83 percent of reported security breaches. The survey of over 1,000 security leaders found 65 percent of organizations experienced a breach in the past year. Breach rates have risen 18 percent each year and are up 40 percent over three years. AI is used both for attacks and for defense, with 94 percent of respondents saying AI autonomously starts security functions. Many leaders fear harvest now decrypt later attacks, where encrypted data captured today could be unlocked later.

New report suggests alternative to probability for measuring AI risk

A report from the Center for Security and Emerging Technology introduces Belief and Plausibility as alternatives to probability for assessing AI risk. The authors argue that ignorance, not randomness, is the main uncertainty in AI risk. Belief expresses how confident one can be based on evidence, while Plausibility shows what is left after removing counter-evidence. The gap between them represents ignorance. Policymakers only need to ask two simple questions about how certain they are that a risk will or will not occur.

AI computer vision could improve self-checkout security and reduce rollbacks

Retailers like Walmart, Target, and Costco are rolling back self-checkout options due to theft and errors. The self-checkout market is still expected to grow from 2.54 billion dollars in 2025 to over 5 billion in 2030. Bill Miller of GK Software USA says AI-driven computer vision can help by using cameras to track every movement at checkout. The technology can detect missed scans, items bypassing the scanner, and incorrect pricing. It flags errors and notifies associates with video clips, reducing theft without adding friction.

Dell and Intel partner on security for AI factory data centers

Dell and Intel are working together to improve security for AI factories, which are data centers that turn data into intelligence at industrial scale. The companies focus on security by design, using Intel's technology in Dell's PowerEdge servers. AI factories face new risks because data moves quickly across cloud, on-premises, and edge environments. AI agents and automated systems act at machine speed, outpacing human monitoring. Dell's Data Orchestration Engine helps automate data discovery, preparation, and governance to protect against threats like data poisoning and exfiltration.

Anthropic executive says coding will become a basic skill like reading

Boris Cherny, creator of Claude Code at Anthropic, believes coding will become a democratized skill similar to reading after the printing press. He says before the printing press only 10 percent of Europeans were literate, but now global literacy is around 70 percent. Cherny argues that the best person to write accounting software is a good accountant, not an engineer, because knowing the domain is the hard part. He predicts coding will shift from a profession to a common skill much faster than the 200 years it took for literacy to spread.

AI expert Nagaraj Garimalla shares lessons from WICSEC 2025 conference

Nagaraj Garimalla, an artificial intelligence expert, reflected on lessons from the WICSEC 2025 conference. WICSEC is a non-profit group focused on child support enforcement. Garimalla said the conference highlighted the importance of data-driven decision making in AI. He emphasized that accurate and reliable data is crucial for effective AI solutions. He also called for collaboration between government agencies, private organizations, and individuals to improve outcomes for children and families.

Japanese lawmakers urge US to focus on AI and critical minerals agreements

Japanese lawmakers are urging the United States to prioritize agreements on artificial intelligence and critical minerals. President Donald Trump said at a White House meeting that the US is outrunning China in the AI race. Trump is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 14 and 15. The Japanese lawmakers want the US to focus on these pacts during the upcoming talks.

Sources

• SIU Carbondale to offer bachelor’s degree in AI+
• SIU Carbondale launches new bachelor’s degree in artificial intelligence
• Is AI reshaping the job market? A&T's new AI degree and expert tips to compete against people and bots
• Government and regulators demand stronger agentic AI security controls
• Union leader denounces use of artificial intelligence to read off names at high school graduation
• AI linked to 83% of security breaches, Gigamon says
• Beyond P(doom) for AI Risk: Quantifying Uncertainty Without Probability | Center for Security and Emerging Technology
• Will Increased AI Security Halt the Selective Rollback of Self-Checkouts?
• AI factory security gap drives Dell, Intel control plane
• Anthropic’s Boris Cherny Explains How Coding Will Go From Being A Profession To Being A Skill, Like Reading
• Nagaraj Garimalla Reflects on AI Lessons from WICSEC 2025
• Japanese lawmakers urge U.S. to focus on AI, critical minerals pacts