Over the past few years, artificial intelligence (AI) has gone from being something I would see in sci-fi movies and shows (always set in the future) to something that feels very present, both in my life and our society. Ive learnt a bit about AI from playing with OpenAIs ChatGPT, checking out Midjourney and reading a few news articles in the media, but at this point, my knowledge of what AI is, how it actually works and where it can be applied feels pretty superficial.

When I learned about the Artificial Intelligence Everywhere course taught by computing science professor Dr. Adam White, I was really excited to check it out. Its really easy to fit into a lot of degree pathways: as an INT D (interdisciplinary) course its open to almost every undergraduate student, and best of all its offered both on-campus (in-person) and asynchronous (online) in Winter 2024, so people can choose what works best for them.

Here are my five big reasons why Im considering registering for this course:

Anyone whos chatted with ChatGPT or asked DALL-E to make an image is often surprised by just hownatural everything feels. Here are a few examples:

While I was used to the magic of computers, processing datasets often required some fiddling with Python or Excel macros, this isnt so straightforward for everyone. Generative AI is massively powerful when its implemented specifically to deal with large datasets, but just pasting a big blob of numbers into ChatGPT can get you some surprisingly useful insights (note: dont try this for anything that actually matters).

On many ualberta.ca web pages, Im running into Vera, the generative-AI-powered chatbot assistant who often has the answer Im looking for. I can text Vera like I text a friend, which feels a lot different than playing with search terms in Google.

And when I need a witty response to the group chat? I want to act like Im coming up with all of my comedic bits on my own, but lets be honestthere mightve been some AI help.

There are a lot of buzzwords being thrown arounddataset, library, iterative processing, neural networks, etc., and I dont really understand what all of these mean or how they fit together. While I could spend some time in a Wikipedia rabbit hole trying to figure out whats going on, the chance to learn from a computing science professor with a strong background in the area sounds a lot more enticing. And these credits apply to a degree? Sign me up!

Theres a lot of talk in the news about what AI means for our society - will it affect jobs? Will it affect learning? Will it go rogue? While I dont think this course will have ALL the answers to ALL of these topics, Id like to be able to form some of my own opinions about AI, and I think a good foundational understanding of it is the right first step. There are famous quotes like the internet is a series of tubes which might show what happens when the people in charge of making major societal decisions about something dont understand it. And I definitely dont want to be caught saying, Well, AI is really just a lot of layered spreadsheets.

There are a ton of job titles like data scientist, CAD modeller, systems administrator, software engineer or web designer that all benefit from (or pretty much require) a strong foundational knowledge of computers and the internet. Im sure that there are going to be a lot of new jobs related to both implementing AI and using it in the workplace and as something without a perfectly clear-cut career path, I want to be ready for these. I feel the foundational knowledge will be really useful to see if I want to pursue a career related to AI.

It wasnt actually that long ago when the internet was launched (the formal date is in the 80s, but it didnt really show up in most homes and schools in Canada until the 90s), and then social media was another big thing that followed in the 2000s. Now these things are everywhere, even though they were pretty niche in the beginning. AI seemed like a sci-fi movie trope until a few years ago, and now, almost everyone I know has used it (well, maybe not my grandparents). Its certainly the next ubiquitous thing, and I want to be ready.

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Five reasons I would take INT D 161 - Artificial Intelligence Everywhere - University of Alberta