Page 16 - Engineering Career Guide for UT Austin

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Become an
AI Wizard
When ChatGPT exploded like
digital fireworks on the in-
ternet in late 2022, it cast
light on the power and promise of arti-
ficial intelligence like never before.
But AI tools have been with us for
years — from Google Search to Siri to
Spotify, AI has been shaping our on-
line lives all along in ways most of us
have never realized.
If you like learning about — and
improving — how apps talk back to us,
then consider studying computer engi-
neering. In this field, you’ll learn how
AI engineers use computer hardware,
software, and programming languages
to write the algorithms and build the
data structures that underlie AI sys-
tems large and small.
Algorithms are the basic building
blocks of all AI systems. In simplest
form, they consist of instructions that
direct computers to carry out defined
operations, just as recipes guide us in
the kitchen to make food. Algorithms
quickly get long and complicated in
developing AI systems. They are often
strung together on neural networks,
elaborate systems of interlocking data
processing operations that work in
much the same way that human brains
work. Neural networks help AI systems
perform complicated, “intelligent”
actions like recognizing images, trans-
lating languages, and even playing
games. They enable computers to
learn, making them better at these
tasks the more they do them over time.
Studying AI involves learning cod-
ing languages like Python and using AI
system-building platforms like Tensor-
Flow. You might use such tools to build
chatbots, write chess-playing pro-
grams, or design apps that predict
stock market trends. In all these activi-
ties, you’ll discover how to analyze
data, adjust algorithms, and improve
models to make AI work even better.
Finally, ethics plays a pivotal role in
the realm of AI. Your education should
include the societal ramifications of AI,
its potential biases, and the hurdles
associated with upholding fairness
and accountability. Gaining an under-
standing of the ethical predicaments
that envelop AI is paramount. These
encompass concerns tied to privacy,
bias, the displacement of jobs, and
even the decision-making capabilities
inherent in AI systems.
Make artificial intelligence your creative power.
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