Artificial Intelligence is everywhere you turn — from ChatGPT-written content to quickly generated graphics. It’s both an emerging field and one that’s quickly amplified in scope and ability — for example, though AI-generated videos were primitive just a few short years ago, they can look almost indistinguishable from real life today.
“Artificial Intelligence — you probably have heard, from the news — is something that is transforming the way we live and also transforming computer science,” says Mikhail Nesterenko, professor and chair of the department of computer science at Kent State University.
The pace at which AI is evolving can be intimidating — but that’s no reason to stay away. On the contrary, institutions of higher learning are implementing AI-focused programs to teach students more about AI.
“It emerged from nowhere over the last year to become a really hot subject,” says Timothy O’Neil, professor and department chair of The University of Akron’s computer science program, “and it impacts numerous areas, including game design and biotechnology.”
Kent State University’s master’s in Artificial Intelligence degree and The University of Akron’s certificate in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are both programs that aim to give students the tools they need to succeed in a world that utilizes AI in multiple sectors, including medicine.
“Cleveland Clinic is asking for our graduates frequently,” Nesterenko says. “Regular drug discovery takes about 10 to 15 years, and machine learning-based drug discovery shortens this period to maybe a few months.”
Kent State’s master’s program was introduced in fall 2021.
“It is actually a heavily technical field,” says Nesterenko. “Using ChatGPT, anybody could do it. Building or training a large language model is involved. So, at the bachelor’s level, students usually don’t have enough expertise. … At the Ph.D. level, students tend to lean toward academia and do the highly technical, sort of specialized, relatively narrow research field.”
The program includes specialized coursework that teaches students about key topics — such as machine learning, data science and neural networks — in classes such as Algorithmic Robotics, Machine Learning and Deep Learning, Advanced Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Database Systems Design.
After graduation, students can use what they learn to assess risk in financial situations, work on self-driving car technology, advance the medical field and more.
“Doctors who are trained to look at CT scans to see if there is a tumor or not, or a false positive — they’re doctors, they’re trained for seven-plus years. Machines are actually better at it,” says Nesterenko.
Akron’s program is a certificate program, for both degree and non-degree seeking students. It was introduced in fall 2022.
“We had a couple of professors who were interested in this. They were teaching courses related to Artificial Intelligence, and they started the certificate as a way to package this body of work,” says O’Neil. “So, when students go looking for work, it’s right there in black and white. They know something about AI.”
Having the AI program available as a certificate allows it to be completed in less time than a typical degree — students are required to take four three-credit classes, including Algorithms, Artificial Intelligence & Heuristic Programming and two elective classes — which include options such as Human-Computer Interaction, Big Data Programming, Interactive Game & Game Engine Design, Introduction to Bioinformatics and more. Choosing electives helps students hone their specialties under the AI umbrella.
“Algorithms is a wide-level study of problems in general — how do you express a problem for the computer to understand? … If you have multiple solutions to a problem, how do you tell which one is the best one for your situation? We have a specific Artificial Intelligence class itself, which is all the basics on the topic,” O’Neil says. “From there, you’re allowed to pick your specialty. So, you can take a couple of classes in game design. You can take a couple of classes in big data.”
If one chooses to take a game design class, for instance, they might learn about building AI into their games and game engines. In the Introduction to Bioinformatics course, students learn about the application of computing and statistics to biological problems.
Studying Artificial Intelligence means students are prepared for a changing world. And learning about the limitations of AI — such as incorrect information given by language models like ChatGPT — is important too.
“Sometimes knowing the problems that it won’t work on is as useful as knowing the problems it will work on,” O’Neil says. “This is a topic that will not go away. We’re going to be talking about this for some time to come. So having some working knowledge on what AI is, what it isn’t, what it will do for you, what it won’t do for you.”
Learning about Artificial Intelligence is an investment in the future.
“This is going to be with us now, going forward. People will continue to develop new tools and techniques. … If you understand today’s techniques and tools, you will understand the things that will emerge in the next five years a little bit easier, because you have some general knowledge of how it’s supposed to logically work in the background,” O’Neil says. “This brand of computer literacy is certainly useful to just, at this point, being an educated person. Because you’re not going to get away from computers or technology in the world today.”
