Forbes
Carnegie Mellon Establishes The First Undergrad Degree in AI?
By: Peter High
Starting in the fall of 2018, Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science (SCS) will offer a new undergraduate degree in artificial intelligence, providing students with "in-depth knowledge of how to transform large amounts of data into actionable decisions," according to a statement put out by the University.
"Specialists in artificial intelligence have never been more important, in shorter supply or in greater demand by employers," said Andrew Moore, dean of the School of Computer Science. "Carnegie Mellon has an unmatched depth of expertise in AI, making us uniquely qualified to address this need for graduates who understand how the power of AI can be leveraged to help people."
Reid Simmons is a research professor in the Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute, and is the new director of the AI program. His research has focused on developing reliable, highly autonomous systems – especially mobile robots – that operate in rich, uncertain environments and on developing robots that can interact socially with humans. I had a chance to catch up with him last week to discuss the new program in greater depth.
Peter High: What was the genesis of this idea?
Reid Simmons: The AI degree had been under consideration for about four years, but efforts to put the program together began in earnest last fall. The main impetus was that students wanted to come to CMU to study AI, because of CMU's centrality in that discipline, but were struggling to obtain the combination of math, statistics, algorithms, sensing, planning, and action needed to develop the appropriate expertise in AI. By combining the strengths of a number of the departments of the School of Computer Science, we were able to put together a comprehensive curriculum that teaches the basic concepts, as well as in-depth understanding, of AI and Machine Learning.
High: Can you provide some examples of the curriculum?
Simmons: Students will study math, including calculus, linear algebra, probability, and statistics; Core computer science, including programming languages, data structures, parallel computing, computational theory, algorithms, and systems; Core AI subjects, including symbolic reasoning, search, planning, machine learning, graphical models, game theory, computer vision, natural language, robotics, and human-AI interaction. In addition, students will be required to take at least one course in ethics and one in cognitive psychology or cognitive science.
High: Will students apply directly to the program? How many students do you anticipate having as part of the program?
Simmons: We anticipate accepting 30-35 per class, with a steady state of 100 students.
All students will apply to the School of Computer Science and can opt for the AI major at the end of their first year. They primarily will take a common core of math and computer science courses their first year. They can then declare one of the three SCS majors (Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Computational Biology). For now, we will accept only 30-35 students each year as AI majors. Because of this cap and the presumed demand for this degree program, not all students declaring AI as a major might be accepted; however, all students will be able to major in Computer Science, and they will be able to focus on AI courses within that major, if they desire. At some point in the near future, we expect to offer an additional major, and a minor, in AI. During the coming academic year, a limited number of current Computer Science students may be accepted to transfer to the AI major, as sophomores or juniors.
High: Do you anticipate having those numbers growing?
Simmons: Yes, we intend to grow if the demand is as strong as we anticipate. Interestingly, the limiting factor is not our AI faculty, which is huge, but physical space on campus, especially dorm rooms for a large number of additional CMU undergraduates. We are currently looking at the potential of building such a space for the extra students.
Peter High is President of Metis Strategy, a business and IT advisory firm. His latest book is Implementing World Class IT Strategy. He is also the author of World Class IT: Why Businesses Succeed When IT Triumphs. Peter moderates the Forum on World Class IT podcast series. He speaks at conferences around the world. Follow him on Twitter @PeterAHigh.
