The idea started, as many of Jake Barton’s projects do, with a simple question: What if there was a better way to build something? 

As a senior game design major at Samford University, Barton has spent years creating—from childhood inventions built out of Christmas tree boxes to online games he programmed in high school. Now, he’staken that same creative instinct into the professional world, developing an AI-powered research tool for one of the Southeast’s most recognized technology conferences. 

Through a connection facilitated by Wink Winkler, assistant professor of digital arts and director of the game design program, Barton was introduced to Tech Birmingham and began working with its Sloss Tech sponsorship committee. His initial assignment involved researching potential corporate sponsors and organizing the information for the team. 

But Barton quickly saw an opportunity. 

“When I was assigned to research potential sponsors, I thought, why should the Tech Birmingham team spend so much time in their search engines when they could be spending more time on the relationships that make Sloss Tech what it is in the first place,” he said. 

That question led Barton to design and build a custom AI agent tailored to the organization’s needs. The tool functions as a research assistant, capable of identifying relevant companies, gathering and summarizing information, and organizing it into a usable format for decision-making. 

Barton emphasizes the goal is to enhance human insight. 

“The goal isn’t to replace the team’s judgment,” he said. “The goal is to give them a better starting point.” 

In practical terms, that means hours of manual research can be condensed into a streamlined process. The AI agent compiles and ranks potential sponsors, allowing the team to focus on strategic conversations and relationship-building—two elements central to the success of Sloss Tech. 

The tool is already being used by Tech Birmingham to support sponsor discovery for the annual conference and other events throughout the year. Its structure allows the organization to avoid per-query API costs and keep its data internal, while generating organized outputs such as spreadsheets. 

Barton describes the system as more than just an AI model. 

“AI agents are not magic, and they are not perfect,” he said. “What makes an agent useful is the workflow around it—the instructions, the tools it can use, the data it has access to and the way it presents results.” 

Building that workflow, however, came with challenges. While running a local language model was relatively straightforward, developing the tools and integrations needed to make it effective required deep problem-solving. 

“I had to think, ‘What do I need my agent to do?’” Barton said. “Then I would build the tools and give them to the model, step by step, until it felt strong enough to give valuable work.” 

That iterative process reflects the interdisciplinary nature of Samford’s game design program, which Barton credits for shaping his approach. By combining programming, design and creative thinking, the program opened doors he hadn’t initially anticipated—including work in artificial intelligence. 

“Game design is such a diverse major,” he said. “You can be a studio artist, a programmer, a 3D modeler, an illustrator, a motion graphics artist and more. It’s a melting pot of the School of the Arts, and it can open up so many avenues for a student in the industry. It did for me.” 

Barton points to the culture of the program as a key influence. Being surrounded by peers who are constantly building and creating—and developing his own portfolio—pushed him to incorporate AI into his workflow and pursue more ambitious projects. 

That environment, combined with faculty support, helped position him to take on real-world challenges before graduation. 

“It’s truly a blessing to have the opportunity to impact the professional world before I have really entered it,” Barton said. “The connections that I have gained from Samford in the tech space give me a lot of confidence.” 

This experience reflects Samford’s national standing for student success—ranked #7 by The Wall Street Journal for student learning opportunities and #3 for career preparation. 

Looking ahead, Barton plans to continue exploring AI development, particularly in the field of education. He sees potential for agent-based tools to enhance learning experiences by personalizing content and streamlining development processes. 

At the same time, he remains grounded in the role of creativity. 

“I truly believe AI will never replace creators,” he said. “But leveraging it to speed up the process of development and change the way applications approach users, that’s where I want to go next.” 

Beyond a technical accomplishment, the project is a clear example of how classroom learning can translate into meaningful impact. 

And, true to form, it all started with the instinct to build something better.