Recently, Artificial Intelligence has been a heavy topic in the eyes of many. It’s clear that some people are uneasy about it, while others view it as the next step forward in innovation. This dichotomy was made evident by the University of Kentucky recently adding a Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence to their engineering department. To learn more about this, here is some information that may be useful.
UK’s Program is one of the first AI graduate programs in the state, with a few other universities following suit. Notably, in the US, The University of the Cumberlands and Kennesaw State University have both begun offering degrees in AI. It seems this development will be something that universities continue to adopt over time.
Prior to the creation of this program, UK had actually already implemented AI Courses. Less than 2 years after the AI Boom, UK introduced the AI Certificate. The classes have changed since then, but both the AI Certificate and the Bachelor’s degree in AI have very similar class requirements.
One very important detail is that these programs promise to have students understand the ethics of using AI. This is a good sign, but it will only be useful if these ethics are actually considered in grading as well. In the world, many individuals have already pointed out that AI requires regulation, and understanding ethics is a huge part of this.
The main reason UK has introduced these AI programs is due to the increase in demand for AI. People with AI knowledge are being hired into all sorts of fields. This situation has gotten to the point where even The Pentagon has started to use artificial intelligence. In a deal with Anthropic, the developers of Claude, The Pentagon attempted to gain full control of it for strategic purposes, only to be denied by Anthropic.
Overall, artificial intelligence seems to be on the rise for many companies hiring, so it is only natural that universities like UK would start to offer these programs. The main question, however, is will these companies continue to encourage the use of AI? Or will there be a downward spiral once AI is regulated?
