Across the University of California, staff are finding practical and responsible ways to use AI to support complex work. For two AI users—Lucy Chang at UC Investments and Adrian Mohuczy‑Dominiak in systemwide cybersecurity—AI has become a tool that creates space for better thinking, stronger judgment, and more effective coordination.
Allowing for More Thoughtful Work
Lucy Chang is an Investment Officer at UC Investments, which helps manage the University’s endowment, capital, and private equity portfolio. Working in data‑rich investment environments, Lucy has primarily leveraged AI to support her research and writing. AI enables her to synthesize large volumes of information more efficiently, deepen her analysis, and produce strong first drafts of investment memos more quickly.
What once required a full week of focused effort can now be completed in a matter of days. In one recent example, Lucy reviewed a newly opened data room early in the week and produced a solid draft memo by Thursday—using the remaining time to verify key assumptions, assess risk, and prepare for committee discussions. Having trained her AI tools on prior memos, AI has become familiar with her writing style and the areas she tends to emphasize, so it could provide a strong draft that she can build upon.
The biggest impact, she notes, is not doing less work, but doing more thoughtful and high-value work, which has made her work even more fun. By reducing the time spent on initial synthesis and drafting, Lucy can focus more on judgment: asking the right questions, evaluating risk in light of shifting market dynamics, and deepening relationships with managers and partners. AI also helps her prepare for higher‑level, strategic conversations, allowing her to present more confidently.
Alongside her own use, Lucy has been an advocate for responsible AI adoption—encouraging colleagues to explore approved tools and sharing what has worked well in her workflow. For her, AI is a way to scale insight and clarity while keeping people, judgment, and decision‑making at the center.
Connect with Lucy on LinkedIn.
Improving Systemwide Notifications
For Adrian Mohuczy-Dominiak, UC’s Systemwide Cybersecurity Threat and Risk Manager, AI has become a valuable thought partner in coordination-heavy, time-sensitive work. Adrian’s role requires tracking risk and coordinating incident management across many UC locations, often involving large volumes of information and tight timelines.
One of Adrian’s key use cases involved improving how credential-related notifications were handled across multiple locations. Previously, this required manually sorting and routing messages each day—a routine but complex and time-consuming task.
Rather than applying AI directly to automate the process, Adrian used it as a thought partner to explore potential solutions. Through iterative discussions, he identified different approaches and uncovered an existing ITS-supported resource he hadn’t previously been aware of. Working in collaboration with ITS, he helped implement a structured, rules-based automation that analyzes incoming information and routes it appropriately—without relying on AI in the live process.
Today, the system largely runs on its own, with Adrian verifying that it’s working as intended. The result is a more efficient, reliable process built on clear logic and expertise, with AI playing a key role in helping shape the solution.
AI has also proven especially valuable during incident response, when speed and clarity matter. In one situation that arose on a Friday evening, Adrian used an iterative, AI-supported approach to analyze data, assess risk, and draft communications for multiple audiences.
What would typically take one to two weeks of effort was completed in about two days, helping teams respond more quickly and confidently.
In cybersecurity, understanding what data was exposed—and what risks matter most—is critical. AI helped Adrian get ahead of those questions and support better-informed decisions at a systemwide level.
Connect with Adrian on LinkedIn.
Saving Time, Creating Space
Lucy and Adrian’s experiences suggest that AI can help extend—not replace—human expertise. When used thoughtfully, it can ease parts of research, analysis, and coordination, freeing up time for judgment and collaboration. Their examples show how UC staff are beginning to incorporate AI into everyday workflows to better manage complexity while maintaining a focus on responsibility and trust.
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