Many California college students are choosing to study AI theory and its new applications as they prepare to enter an ever-changing workforce. At the same time, universities across the state are expanding and developing AI courses and degrees to meet demand.
Governor Gavin Newsom recently announced the first statewide partnership with a technology company to bring AI curriculum, resources and opportunities to California’s public higher education institutions. The partnership with software developer Nvidia will initially bring AI tools to community colleges. It is expected to add partnerships to the California State University and University of California systems.
Natham Lim is a third year student studying music and computer science with a focus on AI. He sees the potential of AI both in learning how to play instruments and in making music more accessible.
“What if you had an AI tutor to answer your questions and provide feedback on your play?” Lim said. “This could make this service available to more people who cannot afford to pay $50 to $100 an hour for private lessons.”
Ms Lim learned to play the violin, guitar and piano with the help of her middle school teacher and YouTube tutorials. He said his family couldn’t afford private lessons, so he mostly taught himself. The internet has helped him evolve as a musician, but he believes AI will drive society’s next technological revolution.
In Lim’s data science course this quarter, the program he uses to complete his homework, Google Colab, has AI built into it, which, if directed correctly, will generate the necessary code.
Many California universities are racing to prepare students for AI engineering jobs, but these careers often require a master’s or doctoral degree. Community colleges and universities are exploring ways to engage students in AI at the undergraduate level while also working to lay the foundation for advanced degrees.
Over the next 10 years, computer and math jobs that include AI are expected to grow by 12.9 percent, the second fastest pace among all industries, according to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tech companies like Meta and Google offer AI-related jobs with six-figure salaries.
Angel Fuentes, dean of business and workforce development at Evergreen Valley College in San Jose, is an advocate of fostering AI literacy at community colleges. Even if you aren’t pursuing a career in technology. He said AI literacy is important because AI will impact fields ranging from medicine to the humanities to business.
Fuentes also said that opportunities for “blue collar AI” are starting to increase. This is a job that involves working with AI, but not necessarily using it to develop or innovate, and typically does not require a master’s degree. As an example, a prompt engineer is someone who creates the inputs that companies use to get responses from AI platforms like ChatGPT. For example, a prompt engineer might use AI to help create presentations or streamline a company’s internal processes.
As part of preparing students for more accessible AI jobs, eight community colleges in California now offer AI degrees or certifications, with more to come, Fuentes said. These programs focus on skills such as computer programming and entrepreneurship.
The partnership between the state of California and Nvidia aims to create AI programs, software, and dedicated AI spaces for community college students, educators, and workers.
Lewis Stewart, head of strategic initiatives at Nvidia, said the partnership would initially last three years and enable students to become “AI-enabled.” Mr Stewart stressed the importance of “upskilling” workers by teaching them about AI, including those who have gone back to school to change careers.
“Community colleges are a great starting point because they are a great way to bring tools and resources into classrooms that are difficult to access,” said Stack of the governor’s office.
Only 1 in 5 community college students transfers to a four-year university, but officials are worried that students will continue their AI research beyond community college or enter the workforce in AI-related roles. I would like to be able to do this.
The idea behind promoting AI literacy is that “AI is here to stay,” and that many fields, not just technology, “need to embrace AI,” says Evergreen Valley College, which trains teachers on how to best use technology. Professor Nasreen Rahim said.
California’s community college system currently has academic integrity guidelines regarding AI that aim to “clarify expectations” to students about what counts as responsible use of AI and what does not.
Brian Sawaya, a biomedical engineering student at Foothill College in Santa Clara County, has found a network of peers at the community college level who, like him, are dedicated to exploring technology fields, including AI.
“Community college students are some of the most motivated people you will ever meet,” Sawaya said. “Community college students are underrepresented in terms of access to opportunity, and as companies strive to diversify their workforces, it is important to provide opportunities for community college students.”
Sawaya, head of the university’s robotics team, said the club’s robots are leveraging AI to better detect objects and avoid obstacles. Sawaya is excited to transfer to a four-year university next year to continue researching wearable technology, including prosthetic limbs.
As Newsom pointed out, the University of California and California State University systems will also benefit from AI industry partnerships in the future. The California Board of Regents announced in September that the university system is seeking $7 million in its 2025-26 budget request to fund AI infrastructure for students and faculty.
Four universities in the California State University System have AI programs: California State University East Bay, San Francisco State University, San Jose State University, and California State University San Luis Obispo. The CSU Generated AI Committee convened for the first time this fall in response to requests from some CSU campuses for system-wide guidance on developing AI programs and managing the use of AI.
At Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, students in the Computer Science and AI Club meet in the auditorium every Sunday afternoon. On a recent Sunday, 80 freshmen computer science students sat in front of two projectors and learned the basics of AI from their club leaders.
“As president this year, I’m trying to champion a place where people who know more about AI can come to teach people who don’t know much and are very interested,” said Cal Polity University Computer said Leo Horwitz, a fourth-year science student.
The club offers workshops to teach students the basics of AI and works on original AI application projects. For example, a project to research and generate code, or a project to automate and referee the red light, green light game. Horwitz said the club partners with local businesses to raise money and also receives funding from the student government, which sponsors the club.
Horwitz is excited about the potential for Cal Poly to collaborate with leading AI developers in the future.
Professor Franz Krufes of Horwitz University offers his students the opportunity to work with companies as part of their courses. He also leads a project that Lim, a third-year student at Cal Poly, is working on that uses AI to evaluate students’ senior projects.
“Working with companies is an opportunity for students to learn about practical applications of AI in situations they may experience in their future careers,” Karfes said.
In another partnership with this news organization, UC San Luis Obispo faculty and students recently collaborated with CalMatters to build digital democracy. Digital Democracy is an AI-powered website that tracks members, bills, campaign contributions, and Congressional hearings and sessions.
Leaders across the UC system are working to incorporate AI across disciplines while balancing the technology’s pitfalls. The University of California President’s Working Group selected a list of “Responsible AI Principles” that includes transparency regarding AI use, safety, and privacy.
Delilah Brumer is a bilingual journalist reporting on education/government at Los Angeles Pierce College. Jeremy Garza is a fellow in the CalMatters College Journalism Network and a third-year student at the California Institute of Technology.
First published: October 30, 2024 6:00am PDT