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AI is the new electricity. It will transform every industry and create huge economic value.

Andrew Ng, Professor at Stanford University,

Google Brain founder, Cousera co-founder, former Chief Scientist at Baidu

Supported by NSF award 2017072

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Turn on cameras

Join us for a group picture

If you feel comfortable please

We will follow up with access to all slides, event recordings, key links, and other materials.

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Long-term Goal: Integrate (more) machine learning into undergraduate research programs.

Approach: Establish a community to help each other achieve the long-term goal.

Today’s Goal: Engage you in this community by sharing benefits of the long-term goal.

What is the Goal of Today’s Workshop?

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Why is This Important Now?

Many aspects of research are being transformed by AI/ML

Undergraduates want/need more AI/ML training

AI/ML are transformative technologies – educators need to use them and teach them.

Huge potential impact for undergraduate research that integrates AI/ML

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What are Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning?

• Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence demonstrated by machines
• Machine learning (ML) is the study of computer algorithms that improve automatically through experience and by using data.
• This is not AI but enables most modern AI applications.
• Most research applications actually leverage ML so that is our focus (but we consider them interchangeable here).

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What does Machine Learning do?

Machine learning finds patterns in data and uses these patterns to predict behavior of new data. This is very powerful!

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Linear regression

AI Protein Folding (AlphaFold)

Andrei Lupas, Max Planck Institute

https://www.science.org/content/article/breakthrough-2021

“This will change medicine. It will change research. It will change bioengineering. It will change everything,”

Y

X

Train

Predict

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What does Machine Learning do?

• See (label images, find objects)
• Understand (follow voice, read/write text)
• Draw (DALL-E, Stable diffusion)
• Drive (self driving cars)
• Play (chess, Go, poker)
• Invest (stock market)
• Socialize (Chatbots – Xiaoice has 660m users)
• Judge (review resumes, review parole)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-11184387/AI-artist-imagine-whats-outside-frame-famous-paintings-including-Girl-Pearl-Earring.html

Girl with a Pearl Earring, Vermeer

“completed” version

Changing every field!

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The Value of Undergraduate Research

• Trains in key skills outside the classroom: complex open problem solving, independent thinking, project management, time management, teamwork, presentation, writing.
• These skills were always good but they are critical in the coming age of AI.

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• Undergraduate research can change your whole life (I have proof!).

Advisor: Amy Graves

The solutions are out there

• Training materials (Courses, videos, tutorials, etc.)
• Software (ML software, UG accessible tools)
• Hardware (free or cost-effective computing)
• Tech support (help when we are stuck)
• Funding (many options for support)
• Inspiration/motivation (many advocates)
• Guides (many helpful and knowledgeable people out there)

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The Opportunity and Challenges for ML and Undergraduate Research?

The Opportunity: Engaging UG in ML research can help UGs and researchers grow key skills and do amazing new research.

The Challenge: How do researchers get the necessary skills, resources, and time for this?

We need a community to help us!

https://smmirror.com/2017/11/beyond-the-index-ideological-diversity-and-community-conversations/

https://futureofwork.georgetown.edu/#