HENRIETTA, N.Y. — Artificial intelligence is becoming a part of everyday life for more and more New Yorkers. On college campuses, more and more schools are teaching the ins and outs of AI. Rochester Institute of Technology will offer a Bachelor of Science degree in AI in the fall.
Technology is the key word in TJ Borrelli’s class at RIT. And the latest technology is artificial intelligence.
“It’s very timely,” said Borrelli, a senior lecturer in RIT’s computer science department. “It’s something that a lot of students are very interested in.”
Borrelli teaches many computer science classes as well as introductory AI classes. That’s what gets Zach Valdez’s attention. He is a first year student majoring in computer science.
“I’m very interested in AI and how it works,” Valdez said. “Even before I came to RIT, I had done some research on how AI itself works, and that part of AI really interests me.”
Starting in the fall, RIT will become the latest of several New York universities to offer a Bachelor of Science degree in AI.
“As part of this program, students will be working with AI from the first day they step foot on campus,” said Sharon Mason, director of RIT’s School of Information Studies.
The everyday use of AI is increasing, with tools and applications now available to almost everyone.
“But there is a big difference between that and being able to design, develop and deploy AI systems,” Mason explained. “So this degree really gives students the opportunity to engage in the field and shape the future of AI.”
“In the broader sense of AI as a whole, AI is definitely very useful,” Valdez said. “And I don’t think generalizing AI to just generative AI doesn’t help demonstrate the potential of what it can actually do.”
Borelli said technology employers are looking for experience in AI, and the new RIT program will provide that.
“It’s such a hot thing right now,” he said. “So it seems like everyone wants to have some form of AI on their resume, and having experience with different aspects of AI is definitely helpful.”
RIT also plans to offer a minor in AI starting in the fall. Emerging and constantly changing technology with endless possibilities.
“AI has had its ups and downs over the years,” Borrelli says. “But, yeah, this explosion is certainly not something I would have predicted, but it’s certainly an exciting opportunity.”
