Staff Stories: Ayham Boucher
On the edge of innovation
By Grace DePaull; photos by Simon Wheeler
When Ayham Boucher was a child, he often found himself on the edge.
On family road trips, he would convince his parents to pull over and cut the car engine, eager to explore the view from the other side of where he stood. It was this innate curiosity that led him to be the first to wander where no one else dared to go.
“I always wanted to walk a little further than everyone else,” Boucher recalled. “I would look at others’ footsteps and find myself wanting to see if there was something new I could discover. The areas nobody had touched, the places they hadn’t ventured – this is what led me to want to explore and be curious about what lies on the other side.”
Today, Boucher once again finds himself on the edge – this time, at the forefront of cutting-edge research and innovation, looking out over a rapidly expanding landscape of possibilities in the field of generative artificial intelligence (AI).
As the assistant AI program director, Boucher leads AI innovation efforts across the university. He also heads AI innovations for Cornell Information Technologies (CIT) at the Ithaca campus and Information Technologies & Services (ITS) at Weill Cornell Medicine, driving advancements that support education, research and administration.
“It is a blessing to be in the world of AI right now,” Boucher said. “It’s completely new, with immense opportunities to discover. There’s a lot of room for everyone to be an explorer. My community here at Cornell has expanded, and I’ve really enjoyed enabling people across campus by providing access to safe tools, training and workshops to help them use AI in their fields.”
Boucher’s journey at Cornell began in 2016, when he worked on several AI projects within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and the Legal Information Institute (LII). From helping farmers optimize the use of 50 million acres of land to making legal information freely accessible online, his work has demonstrated the transformative potential of AI and the central role it has played for years in advancing research and operations at the university.
In 2021, Cornell launched the Cornell AI Initiative, a university-wide radical collaboration designed to deepen the development and application of AI across various fields. This initiative paved the way for the creation of the AI Innovation Lab in September 2024, which Boucher now oversees.
“This is an opportunity for higher education institutions like Cornell to take a lead in building responsible AI applications,” Boucher said. "We play an important role in the field because universities operate with core values. This gives Cornell the chance to shape what AI solutions should look like with human values embedded into the project.”
The AI Innovation Lab has become a cornerstone of Cornell’s AI program, bringing together students, faculty and staff to tackle complex challenges through generative AI. Each semester, individuals will submit unique problems to the Lab, where students then develop solutions to address or mitigate these issues.
Throughout the fall 2024 semester, the Lab’s cohort tackled a range of pressing challenges, such as leveraging AI to streamline information delivery for academic advisors, optimizing their time in back-to-back student meetings; automating Cornell’s travel reimbursement approval process to reduce delays; and enhancing website accessibility compliance through AI-driven review systems. These projects exemplify how AI, when thoughtfully developed and applied, can drive meaningful improvements across academia and enhance Cornell’s mission.
In January 2025, this first cohort of students presented their findings at the AI Innovation Lab’s inaugural Demo Day, organized by Boucher and colleagues, offering a glimpse into how Cornell is leveraging AI to solve everyday challenges.
“The institution is a melting pot of creativity, passion and a desire to do good,” Boucher said. “Here at the AI Innovation Lab, we have researchers, students, staff and faculty – everybody is welcome because this is a journey for everyone. This is a big change for everyone at the university, and the best way to adapt to change is to lean in and use it to innovate together.”
According to Boucher, AI and its integration into various disciplines is undergoing rapid transformation. For the first time, computers are not just processing numbers but understanding and generating content through language, music, images and other creative outputs. AI isn’t gaining intelligence but rather expanding its vocabulary. And Boucher’s goal is to help others identify how it can complement their work, enhance their missions and save time and energy.
“AI is a means to get us to our goals,” Boucher explained. “When it comes to what we can do and how we can enhance the university and its efficiency, generative AI comes in a variety of different flavors. There are opportunities for it in every domain. And while the journey between now and then might have some bumps along the way, I’m looking forward to helping make it as smooth as possible for everyone.”
Boucher is no stranger to navigating the unknown. Learning to embrace exploration, and recognizing that progress often comes through experimentation, trial and error – he hopes others will join him in forging new ground.
“Here at Cornell, you can see it everywhere,” Boucher said. “There is a history of innovation. You can feel the belief in the mission. There is so much room for creativity, to become a leader or to start something new. Whatever you’re passionate about, you can find people here to support you. In the AI program, we are embracing the change, and we want to bring you on the journey with us.”
Looking back on his time at Cornell, Boucher is most proud of the community he has helped build – one that embraces curiosity, collaboration and the willingness to take risks in the pursuit of knowledge.
“I don’t feel fear; I always feel a thrill,” Boucher admitted. “In this field, you must keep in mind the idea that you can fail, and it doesn’t matter because you’re exploring something new. You simply say, ‘I failed and I’m going to try again.’ That is the mindset and flexibility of being an explorer. You will grow, and you might grow elsewhere. But at Cornell, you will grow in the right direction.”