Artificial intelligence has been a hot topic on the internet in recent months. ChatGPT, OpenAI and other of his AI work are making waves in the creative world and influencing millions of people changing the way they interact with technology.
BYU has embraced this change by offering a new machine learning degree to students who want to learn more about AI in the Fall 2023 semester.
According to the BYU School of Computer Science, the degree “was previously focused on data science and is now focused on machine learning.” Learn basic machine learning models to understand the evolution of the field.
David Wingate, associate professor of computer science at BYU, says people shouldn’t be alarmed about the future of AI. AI is new and will disrupt the way people do business, but people should not forget the positive impact AI can have on their lives, he said.
“We need to embrace this as the new reality and prepare students to work alongside algorithms,” says Wingate. “I am very excited about my new machine learning degree because I believe it will prepare students for high-impact work, while also preparing them to study further at the graduate level if they wish.” said Wingate.
Tony Martinez, a computer science professor at BYU, has worked in the AI field since 1982. Martinez said what most people think of as AI is really just machine learning. Computers are given vast amounts of data, shown solutions to hypothetical problems, and learn from previous problems to solve new solutions.
Martinez said machines aren’t inherently smarter than humans, but they’re much faster. He went on to say that machines can perform “trillions of operations per second” while humans can manage only a few per minute.
According to Martinez, computers and machine learning algorithms are “just tools that humans can use to solve problems faster.”
“We were one of the first universities to offer a degree in machine learning, and we want to be a pioneer,” Martinez said.
BYU senior Andrew Cohen minored in computer science. His first three years of schooling were heavily focused on biotechnology, and it wasn’t until midway through his junior year that he realized the potential of machine learning.
“I really wish we could have started earlier,” Cohen said. “The resource existed, I just didn’t know about it.”
Cohen said AI is a tool, and tools are meant to be used. He used his ChatGPT to create lesson plans for self-studying different languages and helped simplify difficult concepts in college classes. Cohen believes machine learning will be part of his STEM curriculum within the next decade.
“I’m excited about the growth of the industry and the pace at which it’s growing,” Cohen said.
Wingate said the new degree is an opportunity for BYU’s multiple departments to work together to embrace machine learning and data science. Students interested in learning more about this major should visit the BYU Undergraduate Catalog.
