The College of Engineering has created new courses and reimagined others to strengthen artificial intelligence and machine learning education for undergraduates. Across 14 classes in six of our eight schools, students get the knowledge and hands-on experience their future employers will need. And our new AI Makerspace gives undergraduates unique access to the high-performance computing power necessary to use AI tools. 

In the meantime, the students of yesteryear, our alumni, are already grappling with AI and its impact on their companies and the practice of engineering. They’re also wondering — and at times worrying — about what comes next. 

We connected with several of them, along with other leaders with ties to the College, to talk about AI and engineering today and tomorrow, along with what young engineers will need to know to shape AI in the years to come. 

The following interviews have been edited for brevity.
 

By combining existing technology with generative AI, we are streamlining data management, which may eliminate the need for manual data entry and intervention in processing purchase orders. This advancement is projected to save our commercial team approximately 15% of their time, allowing them to focus more on delivering enhanced solutions for our customers. 

Rohit Verma: Crawford & Company, a insurance claims management company, leverages AI across most of our businesses to uplift operational, customer, and employee experiences with a responsible AI framework. This integration of AI with human expertise in claims management ensures efficient processing and effective decision-making. As an example, starting with the First Notice of Loss stage, AI aids in efficiently processing large claim volumes and providing accurate coverage reviews, aiding adjusters in making timely, effective coverage decisions.

Hearon: The quality of AI, especially in healthcare, is critical. When there’s a field as promising as AI, you inevitably get a big rush of competitors, and ensuring that only the best products make it to market is key.

Algorithms are only as good as the data that goes into them, so the source data must be relevant, plentiful, and expertly curated. Additionally, ensuring the right type of oversight is key. At Imidex, oversight by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has enabled us to legally market AI that impacts patient care in the U.S. While it was a challenging process to achieve 501(k) clearance from the FDA, it also affirmed that we are generating the best outputs for our provider customers and their patients. 

Velastegui: While I see so many benefits to AI taking center stage in our lives, we should all stay vigilant about the potential for misuse. I’m watching for privacy violations from data collection, exposure of personal information, and surveillance. Like you’ve probably seen in the news, I’m also concerned about bad actors creating malicious AI systems that spread misinformation. 

AI is developing faster than regulations can keep up in some cases, so staying mindful of the strict regulatory environment will be critical. 

At the same time, companies need to balance efficiency and innovation with job security in the AI-driven workplace. This involves fostering a collaborative culture with transparent AI roles, providing more awareness and training, and promoting continuous learning for skill enhancement.

Velastegui: AI will bring software engineering and data science to all aspects of engineering. Students and professionals will need to master how to leverage AI systems versus traditional methods in order to maximize innovation and effectiveness. 

AI is no longer limited to the technology stack of the product. It can be leveraged across all business functions. More AI knowledgeable students will be needed. Now is the time to get up to speed on AI regardless of your degree — it’s about to be as fundamental as the internet and the computer. 

Neal: The growth of AI-generated content is remarkable. Envisioning a future where transcribing, translating, and summarizing using Large Language Models is exciting.

With AI seamlessly integrated into our everyday apps, language barriers will virtually disappear, fostering better communication and understanding. We will witness the widespread adoption of early technologies through user-friendly applications on our phones and other platforms. The cumulative knowledge derived from vast data sets will empower newer AI models to minimize errors. 

This will be particularly transformative in humanities and the sciences, where AI reasoning will enable individuals with varying abilities to harness advanced math, finance, and statistics. The possibilities for advancement in every field of study are truly unimaginable and hold great promise for our future.

Velastegui: We’re actually starting to see the future of AI right now! The next generation of generative AI is Multimodal AI, which can process multiple data inputs and types to produce more accurate and sophisticated outputs. For example, how can healthcare be further enhanced to truly provide personalized patient care and research? Healthcare recommendations rely almost exclusively on averages. But we are all unique people.  

Imagine the healthcare of the future where a diagnosis or treatment plan takes into account the biometric signals from your Apple Watch throughout the day, and not just when you go to the doctor. Your health history, your environment, and who you are as a person all will be instantly pieced together. 

That will be a life-changing moment for all of us.

Klaer: The current state-of-the-art AI approaches such as auto-regressive text prediction models (predicting the next letters/words from the current text and context) are limited in many ways. We will still have to do much more research in this area to fulfill the potential of AI and do it in a safe and responsible manner. I can’t wait to see what the Georgia Tech College of Engineering students and faculty will contribute to this quest.