ECU computer science students, faculty embrace future with AI

Artificial intelligence can do a lot of things, but controlling the weather isn’t one of them.

“I hate cold places,” Sarthak Acharya said.

When deciding on where to attend college, Acharya wanted a place where he could explore the use of artificial intelligence as well as a warm location with a unique culture. He found all those at East Carolina University.

“This is a good spot,” said Acharya, a software engineering sophomore from Nepal.

Acharya embraces the use of artificial intelligence, seeing it as a powerful tool to enhance all fields of industry and study.

“AI is not here to replace humans. I think it’s going to help us more by making our work efficient and faster,” Acharya said. “The thing is, what we used to spend time on, like coding and doing some things repeatedly, now AI can automate it and do it for you faster than you. As a tech student, I can work on my projects, but I don’t need to focus on the things that used to consume more time. Now I can focus on thinking about new ideas and making it happen rather than fixing problems and going through the process like how to build it.”

Dr. David Hart, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, instructs students. Hart is focused on showing his students the importance of artificial intelligence and its future applications.

Jobs with AI

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, software development jobs and computer occupations are expected to grow at a rate of 11% to 15% through 2033.

“I think the students who will have the best job prospects are the ones who can show that they can use the AI to develop full products, full projects and outcomes, rather than simply showing they have the technical knowledge,” said Dr. David Hart, an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science who researches artificial intelligence.

Hart said AI allows students to focus on solutions to problems rather than the nuts and bolts of programming.

“What it really enables us to do is think at a higher level,” Hart said. “Instead of having to spend so much time digging into the intricate details, you can spend more time looking at the big picture, letting AI help fill in those gaps so that you can spend your focus on the engineering, the software development of really delivering a product to a user, to a company. And so it’s going to kill the old way of doing things, but it’s not going to kill jobs.”

He said the use of AI is growing into fields that computer scientists and programmers never considered previously such as medicine, agriculture and government.

“I think we’ll see more demand for computer scientists in the medical field and computer scientists in AI as more of these tools become part of these other fields,” Hart said. “Whereas before, you wouldn’t need a dedicated person managing your AI products, if now you have half your systems running on AI, you’re going to need someone who understands how to work with them, how to debug them. So, if students can not only show those technical skills but that ability to jump into these interesting areas, I think they’ll have many prospects in the future.”

Partnering with AI

Hart doesn’t see artificial intelligence as an obstacle.

“If we can think of AI as this partner in the development cycle, then we can go out to fields we never thought about before — research in biology or research in medicine. And we can jump into these fields because we can think about these problems in a new way than we had before,” he said.

As an example, Acharya is working with Dr. Cameron Schmidt in the Department of Biology in using AI in infertility diagnostics.

“In my high school, I was a computer science, physics and math student. I never took biology classes,” Acharya said. “But diving in here and learning more about it, it’s fun, like how crucial it is in biology to track those cells for life, finding new diseases or anything related to biological things, and seeing my work influencing how it can help the biological field by tracking those cells efficiently, faster than what manually a human can do. It’s actually fun to see how I can work with technology and also contribute to the field of biology.”

Hart works with a group that is using AI to analyze eye images to try to diagnose medical conditions.

“We’re using the vast amounts of data to interpret medical conditions that wouldn’t have been visible to us previously, that a doctor wouldn’t have just picked up on,” Hart said. “But an AI with vast amounts of examples could see, ‘Oh, you may be at risk for high blood pressure based on what I’m seeing in your eye.’ So these are capabilities that we didn’t have before.”

AI Education

Not only is Acharya majoring in software engineering, he is working toward obtaining an undergraduate certificate in artificial intelligence from the Department of Computer Science. The certificate emphasizes principles in machine learning, artificial intelligence and other applied deep learning fields, providing students lessons in the design and implementation of advanced AI applications.

“The certification will show that I can work with AI and I know how AI works,” Acharya said. “I think with the certification as proof, I will definitely be on a higher side for a student who will go into the field with that versus a student who just knows how to use AI but doesn’t know how deep it can go.”

Hart believes the certificate is important for students to obtain.

“We have great classes where students can be prepared to go into that world of AI, but they have to know that that exists, and they have to have that on their resume, so that employers know that they’re prepared for that future,” he said.

Nothing to Fear

Acharya isn’t worried that AI is going to ruin his job prospects upon graduation.

“As a student, if you are open to learning, I think that will take you to those places where you were always scared of, and that can be your turning point and actually can build up an interest that you never thought you had inside you,” he said.

Hart said he understands if some students interested in computer science are apprehensive.

“It is a tumultuous time, but come a few years down the road, I think everyone’s going to start seeing what AI can add to the table, not simply what it can take away,” he said.

And students need to be ready, he said.

“If they’re willing to adapt, if they’re willing to think about themselves a little bit differently than we did in the past and ready to jump into new fields, a different way of seeing things, I don’t think there’s a reason to fear,” Hart said. “I think the opportunities are going to open up.”