“This is a real revolution”: Why Professor Daniel Akuna thinks it’s time to learn AI
Daniel Acuna has always wanted to talk to computers. Before Python and GPU, he was a curious student in Chile long ago, trying to build a chatbot without formally knowing how to program. “I thought I could do it with Computer,” he said. “Somehow, I got some tips. It gave me the butterfly. It sounds cliché, but I always want to talk to a computer. ”
This passion, as well as years of academic and scientific training, spans disciplines and the mainland, and today he is a new online teacher at the University of Colorado Boulder University Master of Artificial Intelligence Science. From studying computer science as an undergraduate to earning a PhD in the same field at the University of Minnesota and completing a postdoctoral degree in neuroscience, Acuna has spent his career trying to understand how humans and machines learn. His judgment: AI is not a trend in the past.
“I have been a witness to the progress of AI majors over the past 20 years,” he said. “But what is happening right now is a real revolution. AI is becoming the fundamental level of our society, affecting life, work and education, and we need to be prepared for it. We can’t escape. We need to be part of it.”
Tasks with or without previous AI experience extended access
Cu Boulder online MS in artificial intelligence is designed with this revolution in mind. Acuna admits he was initially skeptical about it – “I object to the idea that people can get the same level of online as campuses”, but his views quickly changed.
“This technology will affect every field,” he said. “It is not enough to limit people who can only live in Boulder, who can stop most of their lives to learn in traditional programs. We need to teach people everywhere.”
The online format allows students from all walks of life and around the world to acquire advanced AI skills and apply them to areas such as healthcare, finance, education and science. It also welcomes students with no experience in machine learning.
“It’s a great course if you like digital and quantitative work,” Acuna says. “You don’t need a background in AI or machine learning. We assume you start with the basics.”
When asked to define “basics,” Acuna continued, “critical thinking, curiosity, mathematics – you can’t avoid mathematics, linear algebra, calculus, and probability.” He laughed. “It also helps to know how to think about ML, how to make machine learning without explicitly telling it what to do, and you need to understand the importance of the data and the performance evaluation of the machine once you learn it.”
Teach AI purposefully A realistic view
Acuna teaches Cu Boulder Machine Learning Professionalismthe basic approaches to MS in AI programs, as well as data science and MS in computer science. His courses are one of the few courses that make up performance-based admissions offered by MS in AI degrees.
In his courses, students participate in a mix of traditional assessments, collaborative discussions, and hands-on projects. In emphasizing understanding fundamentals, he also points out the value of learning how to apply them in the field. Students are even encouraged to use AI tools in their assignments, just like in real-life situations.
“It will be a fun course. People will learn a lot and they will be able to apply it to their own fields and their lives.”
But Acuna didn’t add sugar to the AI challenge. He is a realist about the ethical complexity of changing rapidly, hype cycles and fields.
“In this field, things come. I was very skeptical about neural networks at first. But the tools we have now (including language models, multimodal AI) that they have revolutionized the possible revolution.”
Looking to the future: Education and Artificial Intelligence Beyond Education
Acuna predicts that over the next 10 to 20 years, AI will not only be the tool we use in niche areas, it will become a partner in how we learn.
“Low, we will use AI to help us teach us. In my field of science, we use it as an assistant or even colleague. It’s hard for human agents to work with AI agents to stop this progress. But we need to face challenges, but we need to deal with them, speak out, and help this future.”
This is exactly what he hopes students in online MS in AI can do. His advice to anyone considering the program? Be willing to fail and continue to learn.
“You’re going to make mistakes. But you won’t do it again next week. It means something good is happening.”
Daniel Acuna’s passion for teaching is only achieved with his clear enthusiasm for learning, and what he notices will be done in the field of AI. His mission? Bring the knowledge of AI to as many people as possible while constantly learning and thinking about the future.
“Science is one of the most advanced things we do as human beings, and we are in a major technological transition. I want to give my students a little bit of this perspective.”
Machine Learning Specialization provides learners with the opportunity to earn three online master’s degrees from Cu Boulder. These degrees include Master of Artificial Intelligence Science,,,,, Master of Data Scienceand Master of Computer Science. This specialization can also be used as an optional feature Master of Electrical Engineering Science and Master of Engineering Management. To learn more about these programs, performance-based admissions and credit for previous studies, visit https://www.coursera.org/collections/boulder.
