MURRAY, Ky. — From regional demands to educational demands, Artificial Intelligence has become integrated into higher education.
The University of Kentucky offers a major in AI, and Murray State University is hoping to implement one into its program soon. The new major has gone through the internal approval process and is expected to be approved in March by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education.
“There has to be somebody who knows how to make AI better, how to make it more powerful, how to get more information from all the data that we have,” said Interim Chair of the Department of Computer Science and Information Technology, Matthew Tennyson.
Tennyson said he believes AI is the future and is already impacting industries across the world. He said he believes it’s important to prepare Murray State students with a program that can ready them for the evolving workforce.
The new major would include two new courses in computer vision and natural language processing. There is currently a minor in AI, which includes computer science, statistics, and pattern recognition. Tennyson said that AI has changed the job market, especially in data and computer science, where it is most prevalent.
“More courses are going to incorporate AI into the coursework that you’re doing, and you’re going to have to learn how to apply AI and use AI,” Tennyson said.
While some have concerns about AI being used and taught in education, Tennyson said this was a change most students wanted to see. He said he’s hopeful the AI major will attract more people to Murray State and increase the student population.
“It’s like it’s a double-edged sword,” Abigail George, a junior computer science major at Murray State said. George expressed complicated feelings towards the advancement of AI. She is currently minoring in AI and believes her coursework has been beneficial for making her competitive in the job market.
However, she worries about the misuse of AI, overreliance, and the spread of misinformation.
“In Jurassic Park, when Jeff Goldblum is like, you didn’t stop to consider if you should make these dinosaurs — you just asked if you could,” George said. She said the comparison feels relevant to the creation of AI because the outcomes could be harmful. She said she’s concerned about the consequences of AI, and that people are relying on it for answers rather than using it as a resource or tool.
She also said that AI can produce misinformation or errors through its responses. In her field of studies, she uses AI for coding or as a study guide rather than a direct solution. George said she hopes AI doesn’t affect society’s critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Her approach is to use and understand AI before it uses her. She said everything she has learned through the minor program has been educational for her career, though she is wary of the overall societal outcome.
“It’s really easy to let it think for you, instead of you thinking about how to use it,” George said.