CALIFORNIA STUDENTS WANT CAREERS IN AI. HERE'S HOW COLLEGES ARE MEETING THAT DEMAND

Nathan Lim, a student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, recently spent the summer working on an artificial intelligence tool to help students evaluate their senior project ideas for ethical and social justice implications.

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He is one of many California college students choosing to learn about AI theory and its emerging applications while preparing to enter an ever-changing workforce. Simultaneously, colleges and universities across the state are working to expand and develop AI courses and degrees to keep up with demand.

With hopes of bolstering these efforts, Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced the first statewide partnership with a tech firm to bring AI curriculum, resources and opportunities to California’s public higher education institutions. The partnership with Nvidia, a leading AI software development company, will bring AI tools to community colleges first. In the future, the hope is to add partnerships for the California State University and University of California systems as well, according to the governor’s press release.

As colleges and universities are developing AI programs, these partnerships will give students more access to the technology that tech companies use while teaching students how to use it, said Alex Stack, a deputy communications director for Newsom.

Lim is a junior studying music and computer science, with a concentration in AI. He sees the potential for AI in both learning how to play instruments and making music more accessible.

“What if there was an AI private teacher to answer questions and provide feedback on playing?” Lim said. “This could make it available to so many more people that can’t afford $50 to $100 an hour for private lessons.”

Lim learned to play the violin, guitar and piano with help from a middle school teacher and YouTube tutorials. He said his family could not afford private lessons, so he is mostly selftaught. While the internet helped him evolve as a musician, he thinks AI will drive society’s next revolution in technology.