San Jose, SJSU collaborate on new AI Center for Civic Good

Artificial intelligence is all around us — and it’s not going away, especially here in Silicon Valley. But a lot of people don’t know what AI tools are out there, how they can be used and how they will be shaping our lives in the future.

That’s where the AI Center for Civic Good comes in. The new center at the downtown Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library is a collaboration between the city of San Jose and San Jose State University, along with a grant from Adobe, to bring more AI literacy to the city’s residents.

“From the beginning, our goal was clear: Create a space where innovation meets accessibility, supporting the public good,” City Manager Jennifer Maguire said. “Through thoughtful planning, collaborating and strong partnership, we develop a center that offers hands-on training, AI literacy programs and opportunities for both San Jose State University students and residents to build practical skills.”

The grand opening Tuesday of the center on the library’s ground floor was a showcase of AI tools and demonstrations from San Jose State students, city departments and partners like LEGO Education, with fun stuff like robots on display.

There will be special programs in the coming weeks including one on women who are leading the way in AI in Silicon Valley on March 23 and one aimed at seniors in May, with companies like Anthropic, Open AI and Google providing training in person and online.

The AI Center will be available for open lab work during the week beginning April 6, and all you need to use it is a SJSU Tower Card or a San Jose Library card.

Michael Meth, dean of the SJSU King Library, said the AI Center is a great example of the power of the city and the university’s library partnership, though he wishes we could come up with a better “a” for “AI,” like “augmenting” or “assisting” to be more accurate for how people can work with it.

“Through our collaboration the library is leading the way in providing the SJSU community and the entire city of San José access to state-of-the-art AI tools and resources,” he said.

You can get more information on the AI Center for Civic Good, as well as check for schedule updates, at www.sjlibrary.org/AIcenter.

FIGHTING WORDS: If you’re a fan of opera or ballet, you might be less of a fan of “Marty Supreme” star Timothée Chalamet after he took a swipe at the two performance art forms.

“I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore,’ ” Chalamet said in a recent interview with fellow actor Matthew McConaughey.

Fortunately, Opera San Jose fans don’t seem to agree. Opera San Jose General Director and CEO Shawna Lucey said audiences turned out in big numbers for the company’s recent doubleheader production of “Cavalleria Rusticana” and “Pagliacci.” And supporters gave big at “La Dolce Vita,” Opera San Jose’s Feb. 21 gala honoring the 10th anniversary season of Maestro Joseph Marcheso.

The gala, which was held at the California Theatre in downtown San Jose, brought in more than $300,000 to support the opera’s programs. There were plenty of performances at the event, as well as a moving speech by Marcheso, but it was tough to top celebrated composer and conductor Alma Deutscher. The young musical genius requested four notes from the audience and spent just a minute crafting an intricate fugue on the spot using those four notes as a theme.

Maybe the title should be “Requiem for Chalamet.”

ACT ONE, BEER THREE: Silicon Valley Shakespeare is bringing its latest Shakesbeerience production to a new venue, Narrative Fermentations in San Jose, on Friday. Just in time for the ides of March, the play is Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar,” and if you’ve been to one before you know it’s an abridged staged reading with a lot of fun extras. And there should be plenty of beer available at Narrative’s brewhouse at 101 E. Alma Ave.

The beer will cost money but admission is free, and the festivities start at 6:30 p.m.

COMING UP AT THE TRITON: The deadline is fast approaching for submissions to “Salon at the Triton,” the Triton Museum of Art’s annual 2D art competition and exhibition.

Artists need to submit their entries by March 13 in five categories: painting, drawing, printmaking, photography and mixed media. Submission rules are available at www.tritonmuseum.org/salon-2026, though it’s worth noting that the Best in Show gets a solo exhibition at the Santa Clara museum.

The Salon exhibition is set to open May 2, which — by no coincidence — is the same day as the Triton’s big fundraiser, “Destination Santa Clara, a Gala Voyage.” You can get more information about the evening, which will include international cuisine and cross-cultural entertainment, at www.tritonmuseum.org/gala.