USC and UCLA bet big on AI to meet soaring student, job market demands

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

See more from the L.A.Times in Google Search.

Set us as preferred USC and UCLA are joining the rush to embed artificial intelligence and new digital technologies into college coursework as the academic year begins, announcing new AI majors and initiatives, betting that degrees built partly or entirely around AI will launch careers and pay off after graduation.At USC, the Viterbi School of Engineering is launching its inaugural undergraduate artificial intelligence degree.The major is housed in the Mark and Mary Stevens School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence inside the engineering school.

Students will spend four years learning to build the technology and to apply it to fields as far apart as drug discovery, robotics and agriculture.In Westwood, UCLA is taking a different approach, opening what officials describe as the nation’s first freestanding Department of Digital Humanities.A new bachelor’s degree in digital humanities will teach students how to integrate AI and digital tools into disciplines including sociology, archaeology, history, and the study of race and gender.

These powerhouse Los Angeles institutions join a growing cohort of universities in California and nationwide responding quickly to a technology most undergraduates first encountered in chat bots or social media feeds in middle and high school.Some campuses — including the new programs at USC and University of San Francisco — are teaching students to build the systems.Others are showing them how to study, and improve upon, what the technology can do for society.

Nearly all are requiring ethics courses along the way — as educators continue to grapple with cheating and with fears that heavy AI use will erode critical thinking.California As universities crack down on AI, extreme monitoring policies and false accusations are fueling a deep mistrust between professors and students.UC San...