Penn announces AI degree, first Ivy League to offer courses in emerging field

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Students at the University of Pennsylvania will be able to earn a degree in artificial intelligence, becoming the first Ivy League school to offer the major.

In a release, UPenn said the “rapid rise of generative AI is transforming virtually every aspect of life,” and the degree program will allow “students to unlock AI’s potential.”

Robert Ghrist, the associate dean of undergraduate education at Penn’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, said it’s important “to get out there and train the people who are going to be the leaders” in the field of AI.

“Everybody’s worried about AI taking jobs away,” Ghrist said. “I’m actually really optimistic that AI is going to lead to a lot of job opportunities and we’re going to need a lot of people who have broad training. And at Penn, being first, we’re looking to train the leaders.”

Ghrist said the program will offer students the foundations to learn the theory of AI, which involves a lot of math and computer classes.

“To understand what ChatGPT and other AIs do, you need a solid understanding of neural networks and network architecture, optimization, dynamics and the principles of data science,” Ghrist said.