- 118 years in, MSU Extension aims to stay relevant by acting as an antidote to tech-based misinformation
- The service, best known for helping farmers get better yields, has expanded its scope over the years to cover financial literacy, health and even training public officials
- Now the university touts its Ask Extension service as a trustworthy antidote to AI
As targeted online misinformation and AI hallucinations corrode society’s shared sense of reality, one of Michigan’s oldest public institutions is still betting its future on good, old-fashioned human expertise.
For 118 years, Michigan State University Extension and its predecessor agencies have existed to serve the public with programs ranging from canning classes to soil testing and financial literacy workshops.
But Director Quentin Tyler admits many Michiganders still don’t know how far the agency has evolved from its roots helping farmers get better crop yields…