USC invests $1 billion in new computing school to teach ethical use of AI

The University of Southern California is eager to teach more students how to work with artificial intelligence and machine learning responsibly, offering more courses to students majoring in computer science and interested in learning the fundamentals. We have invested $1 billion to expand our curriculum to deliver.

The “Frontiers of Computing” initiative, led by USC President Carol Fort, and the new funding build on previous $260 million gift From the California Road Foundation, which the university received in 2019.

Yannis Yortsos, Dean of USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering, said:

The specific problems that USC’s new computing school is looking to address are further development of AI and machine learning software, expanding quantum computing capabilities, and increasing the efficiency and scalability of the hardware that underpins this technology.

Part of the funding will add a new school of advanced computing to the USC campus, teaching students about artificial intelligence, blockchain, data science, machine learning and quantum computing. The new school will also serve as a hub for research and development in these areas, as well as discussion of how to use these tools ethically.

“Computer science, data science, and AI are essentially extensions of the original foundation,” Yortsos told dot.LA. “We want to teach these fundamentals the same way we teach math. We also want to emphasize the fact that we want our students to understand the ethical consequences of technology. , we want our students to understand that it is not only about technical enterprise competence, it is also about developing credibility.”

The 116,000-square-foot building won’t open until 2024 and is still under construction. Once that’s done, the entire Computer Science Department will be housed in the new hall.

The new curriculum “will not only benefit engineering students, but students in business and other fields as well. [majors] And that’s what makes this particular initiative unique,” Yortsos said.

The new funding also strengthens USC’s footprint in the local economy. The Viterbi School of Engineering Information Science Institute campus is located in Marina del Rey, and its Institute for Creative Technologies focuses on mixed reality, body computing and medical virtual reality, among other disciplines, and is located in Playa del Rey. is based in

Yortsos added, “We plan to invest heavily in developing a Western technology ecosystem with two major institutions.”

In 2021, the National Science Foundation reported: 42% or more A percentage of all higher education degrees statewide are in science and engineering.Overall, federal subsidy administrators have pumped $193.4 million Incorporated into state STEM education programs in 2022.

USC was the sixth California university to receive NSF funding last year, behind UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, and UC Davis.received by a private university 84 grants from NSF Of more than 260 proposals from universities (universities must apply for most grants).

USC’s investment reflects a growing interest in investing more in public and private universities that teach computer science skills to a new generation of workers. In total, USC said he plans to award 1,733 computer science degrees to both undergraduate and graduate students this year, up from 1,400 two years ago. – Samson Amore