Local news outlets asked an artificial intelligence expert from the University of Cincinnati to explain why this technology is becoming essential to so many areas of higher education.
The University of California College of Engineering and Applied Sciences offers two master's programs in artificial intelligence (AI), and UC Blue Ash offers a new associate degree program in AI for the workforce developed by Intel Corporation .
University of California professor Ali Minaj is an AI advocate. He has been researching this technology for his 35 years in his laboratory at the University of California's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He holds a joint appointment with the University of California Department of Computer Science.
More than a dozen UC programs across five universities are working on AI.
“AI is disruptive, but I don't think people realize how disruptive it is,” Minaj said.
“AI is becoming increasingly integrated into almost everything we do. There are places where it is obvious, like self-driving cars, drones, and ChatGPT. But we are using AI for all kinds of applications. “We are doing so,” he said.
Minaj told WLWT-5 that UC students are not only learning how to use AI, but how to build and troubleshoot it. Students with an AI background are in high demand in a variety of industries, from computer games to finance.
WVXU also spoke with Minaj about the growth of the AI program. Six years before him, UC awarded its first master's degree in artificial intelligence with just a few students.
“We have over 100 applicants this year and 35 or 40 of them will be here in the fall,” he told WVXU.
Minami said society needs more AI literacy to educate people about the good and bad uses of AI today. He warned that any technology can be misused.
But UC graduates will play a big role in shaping the technology, he said.
“Students are really excited about AI,” he says.
Check out the story on WLWT.
Featured image at top: UC's artificial intelligence program is becoming increasingly popular.Photo/Imaginima/Unsplash
