UB will soon offer first-of-their-kind degree programs that combine the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence with traditional academic disciplines, including logic, language, communication, geography, policy analysis and economics.
These seven AI-focused bachelor’s degrees were recently approved by the New York State Education Department for implementation this fall. Additionally, the university has also launched two AI-focused minors: artificial intelligence, crime and society, and AI ethics.
Both the new majors and minors are supported by $5 million in state funding awarded by Gov. Kathy Hochul for the university’s new Department of AI and Society (AIS).
The programs will prepare students to apply AI tools to their respective disciplines and readies them for the anticipated growth of AI applications across various industries. They will also give students a deep understanding of AI’s historical context and societal implications. The curriculum ranges from introductions to computational fundamentals, to examinations of AI’s potential benefits and drawbacks for society.
“This is not just about infusing AI into other disciplines. As much as AI can benefit the arts, humanities and social sciences, AI desperately needs the arts, humanities and social sciences as well,” says Atri Rudra, the Katherine Johnson Chair in Artificial Intelligence and professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, who serves as inaugural chair of the AIS department. “We recognize that AI systems cannot benefit society without an AI workforce that understands society.”
The newly approved degrees will be based in their disciplines’ respective departments but require both new and existing courses from those departments and new courses offered by the AIS department. The degrees are:
- AI and geospatial analysis, Department of Geography.
- AI and language and intercultural competence, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures.
- AI and language technology, Department of Linguistics.
- AI and logic and ontology, Department of Philosophy.
- AI and policy analysis, Department of Political Science.
- AI and quantitative economics, Department of Economics.
- AI and responsible communication, Department of Communication.
The university estimates that more than 300 students will be enrolled in these degree programs by the fifth year of the programs.
This “AI + X” model was inspired by the existing “CS + X” degrees at other institutions that combine computer science with other fields, but university officials, after consulting with external reviewers, believe these to be the first “AI + X” degrees in the nation.
The seven degrees were developed over the spring semester by an ad hoc curriculum committee of faculty across the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, where the AIS department will be jointly based.
“These degree programs are just the beginning, as we are already in the process of developing proposals for AI-focused degrees in other areas,” says Jeff Good, professor in the Department of Linguistics, who serves as associate chair of the AIS department. “We look forward to bringing more departments and academic units into the fold to offer these truly interdisciplinary degree programs.”
The AIS department will soon offer its own degree programs as well. It intends to add full-time faculty for the upcoming academic year. UB also is planning an AI & Society Building that will feature computer labs, offices, conference rooms and space for community-oriented work in AI.
Good says the newly approved degrees will not only prepare students for a labor market where knowledge of AI will increasingly be desirable but also help create a workforce that can shepherd the responsible use of AI.
“We cannot simply assume private companies will build AI systems that are ideal for society,” Good says. “Universities have a critical role in training students to appreciate AI’s societal implications and to contribute to the development of AI systems with the betterment of society in mind.”
