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Tecnologico de Monterrey (Tec de Monterrey) presented its proprietary generative artificial intelligence model, TECgpt, which some institutional collaborators already use in beta mode. “Tec de Monterrey, because of the genetics and soul of the institution, has always advanced cutting-edge projects. Today, we are the first in Mexico and Latin America to have our own generative artificial intelligence model,” announced Carles Abarca, Vice President of Digital Transformation at Tec on Artificial Intelligence Day (AI Day). This event was a stage to present worldwide advances in generative AI and Tec’s internally developed tool. Conferences and talks by experts in these technologies assessed their impact and areas of opportunity in organizations.
Abarca pointed out that TECgpt represents a historic advance for the institution in information technology topics, equal to its achievement of having the first Internet connection in Latin America. TECgpt is now available in test mode to request information about specific internal institutional procedures and uses.
TECgpt, a unique tool in Latin American universities
Previously, Tec provided Tecbot, an internal chatbot with pre-fabricated responses, but now it has the beta mode of Tecgpt, a conversational generative artificial intelligence model.
Manuel Terán, manager of AI Platforms in the Vice Presidency of Digital Transformation at Tec, was one of those in charge of presenting the generative AI tool that, for the moment, is only available to the first 500 users who signed up to test it. This tool facilitates obtaining information through dialogue about some institutional procedures, and it will have the ability to generate images and suggest publications in networks.
Terán commented that this initiative seeks to offer the Tec community the functions of tools and application models in a secure technological ecosystem. TECgpt leverages the technology of the Microsoft Azure platform, mainly for privacy, because it offers business security advantages. In addition, generative AI models such as GPT 3.5 Turbo, Ada-002, and DALL-E have been implemented. “The information is safeguarded in this ecosystem. We can create components that our community can consume and connect to our institutional databases securely,” explained the manager.
The platform has two modalities: TECgpt-portal, available through an internet browser, and TECgpt-api, which will integrate these technologies into enablers already used at Tec to make them smarter, for example, TECbot.
We are the first in Mexico and Latin America to have our own generative artificial intelligence model.
– Carles Abarca
Terán commented that the TECgpt scheme focuses on four main axes: ChatGPT, image processing, ChatTEC, and creating a certain number of specific use models. Among the models already available is one that offers the same smart query functionalities of ChatGPT, generating images from text descriptions, writing social media posts, and summarizing texts.
“Our goal is to bring these AI skills to the entire Tec community,” said Luz Eunice Angeles, leader in the TECgpt initiative. The platform presentation included demonstrations of its operation and how teachers and collaborators can leverage the generative AI models integrated into TECgpt. About 500 collaborators and teachers will have access to this tool in the first stage.
Sharing knowledge and applications about AI
During AI Day, there were presentations on other technologies and conferences with a panel of experts on generative artificial intelligence in organizations and their impact. Among the demonstrations and topics shared were the following:
Technological solutions with generative AI
This included ChatTEC, an intelligent search tool for institutional knowledge that allows interaction in natural language and operates using information generated at Tec. Terán said that ChatTEC will support institutional procedures such as consultation of certificates, insurance, savings, and credentials, among others. “It is not going to replace TECbot; it is going to be a component for the Tec assistant that will evolve the interaction,” he said.
Likewise, the event demonstrated models based on generative AI, which are accelerators for producing solutions from a prompting activity. These models aim for efficiencies in operations, the teaching-learning process, and research areas.
Assistants with conversational AI in organizations
Jordi Torras, an AI and Machine-Learning Strategist at Imbenta, made attendees reflect on the benefits and challenges of using AI conversational chatbots and virtual assistants in organizations.
In his presentation “Disruption in the Traditional Market of Chatbots and Virtual Assistants by Large-Language Models,” Torras reviewed the evolution of classic assistants to those that use transformer-type neural networks, such as ChatGPT.
“Neural networks do not analyze individual words, but tokens and numbers that are like vectors grouping the terms with similar concepts, allowing more efficiency in topics such as sentiment analysis,” he said. The technology in these assistants permits organizations to offer dynamic, precise, and fast answers to their users, interact more naturally and personally, analyze data, and automate complex tasks.
Improve business with operations research and AI
Dr. Cipriano Santos, a distinguished professor in operations research and artificial intelligence, and Dr. Andrés Téllez, a postdoc member of the OperAI research team, both at the School of Engineering and Sciences at Tec, presented a project about optimizing business processes.
Santos, a participant in Tec’s Faculty of Excellence initiative, and Téllez showed their work in Artificial Intelligence Operations (oper.ai), an initiative focused on automation and applied mathematics for business decision-making. Their proposal consists of developing tools based on IoT (Internet of Things) and AI models that help develop optimization strategies based on data analysis and demand prediction to determine prices and costs, among others.
“Our dream is to determine how AI can help someone who knows nothing about mathematics build their models,” Dr. Santos said. “The idea is to help businesses devise, implement, and distribute to contribute to society.”
Present educational cases with OpenAI
Jorge Pérez, Microsoft’s Senior Data and AI Architect, presented the conference “From Feedback to Knowledge: Classifying Student Feedback with OpenAI and Prompt Engineering.” The speaker presented a real case, with data from student surveys on leveraging the information obtained using GPT model functionalities and prompt engineering.
Perez shared the programming code and keywords used in the prompt that he entered into an Azure OpenAI model, showed the results, and recommended to attendees how to get better answers from the program. “In an educational institution, GPT can give immediate value in other use cases such as having a virtual teacher to whom they can transfer its knowledge or provide teachers an extra opinion or assessment of a student text,” he said.
About AI Day
The AI Day was the space where Tec presented achievements and advances in topics related to Artificial Intelligence. Its motto was “Artificial Intelligence: Designing the Future from the Present.” The event occurred at the Luis Elizondo Auditorium on the Monterrey campus and was transmitted through the Teams platform for Tec collaborators.
The objectives of this event were to transform, inspire, and build a future where AI is a fundamental pillar in educational and research work, and Tec is the undisputed leader in this field. The tools presented are part of the “Digital Route” in Tec’s Strategic Plan 2025, which proposes extraordinary digital experiences and enablers integrated into all the plan projects.
Translation by Daniel Wetta
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This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 
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