Carnegie Mellon University’s AI offering for undergraduates is the latest in a spate of exciting launches from US universities. In 2018, we have seen NYU offer a  blockchain major to undergraduates, and University of Pennsylvania become the first Ivy League to offer an online degree. This looks like a promising trend for those who want academia to sync closely with industry.

Rapid developments in technology have catapulted artificial intelligence (AI) into intense limelight. It is near impossible to not encounter AI or its applications in the everyday life. From the dynamic feeds of social media platforms to control systems of complex machines, AI has seamlessly integrated itself within our lives. In sync with this growing demand, Carnegie Mellon University launched its first undergraduate program in AI earlier this year in May.

This is the AI first-ever degree for undergraduates.

Based in Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is renowned for its graduate and research programs in various branches of computer sciences such as AI & robotics. But this undergraduate program takes a step towards recognising how AI is moving from science fiction to everyday science.

"Specialists in artificial intelligence have never been more important, in shorter supply, or in greater demand by employers," said Andrew Moore, dean of the university's School of Computer Science.

He added, "Carnegie Mellon has an unmatched depth of expertise in AI, making us uniquely qualified to address this need for graduates who understand how the power of AI can be leveraged to help people."

In its initial phase, the university will accommodate no more than 30-35 students in the program each year. Students that will be accepted by the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon will be able to enter the AI degree program in their second year enabling them to build a solid foundation in computer science in the first year.

The degree will unite several other disciplines that are commonly associated with AI such as machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, robotics and human-computer interaction. It will also be focusing the university’s core strengths in cross-disciplinary instruction, particularly in exploring the ethical and societal implications of AI, by involving faculty members from the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy and the College of Engineering

The director of the AI program is Professor Reid Simmons from The Robotics Institute Carnegie Mellon University. Prof. Simmons’s research has revolved around developing reliable, highly autonomous systems, especially mobile robots that operate in rich, uncertain environments and on developing robots that interact socially with humans.