Essential Skills Immersion Series: Artificial Intelligence
What are the most in-demand skills for today’s job market and the future of work? Each semester, this event series offers a week of sessions built around a specific skill to help students consider this question as they prepare for the careers of today and tomorrow. These sessions are designed to provide you with the knowledge of in-demand skills and opportunities to develop them, connect you with employers who seek these skills and help you articulate your career readiness to employers.
Artificial Intelligence
The transformative impact of generative AI systems has been significant to the job search, preparation, and employer recruitment processes. This extends beyond individual career trajectories, influencing organizational and business operations where technological advancements play a pivotal role in our evolving AI-driven economy.
Engaging in these sessions offers a comprehensive understanding of AI, delving into the ethical considerations inherent in its development and utilization. Participants gain insights into acquiring hands-on experience and cultivating skills essential to navigate the AI landscape. Moreover, the sessions guide students on positioning themselves for future roles that either work directly with AI or leverage its potent capabilities. Join us to stay ahead in this dynamic intersection of technology and professional advancement.
Co-Hosts:
Texas Career Engagement
The Provost Office of Academic Affairs
Good Systems
LBJ School of Public Affairs
Programs
Image-based AI at Work
Tuesday, February 6, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Texas Career Engagement, FAC 2.236
Facilitator: Dr. Art Markman, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, UT Austin
Food will be served.
As generative AI systems have gained prominence, a lot of attention has gone to large language models. Systems that generate images from text descriptions have also emerged and are beginning to have a significant impact on workplaces—particularly in creative fields. In this panel, we will discuss ways that these image-based models have been deployed as well as some of the complexities and ethical concerns about using them in professional settings.
In this session, participants will gain
- An understanding of the capabilities of common image-based generative-AI models
- Knowledge of how individuals in creative fields are using these models
- Strategies for evaluating the ethics of using these models
Panelists
- Kory Bieg, Associate Professor at the University of Texas School of Architecture
- David Forbert, Vice President, GSD&M
AI and Ethics
Thursday, February 8, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Texas Career Engagement, FAC 2.236
Facilitator: Prof. Sherri Greenberg, Assistant Dean for State and Local Government Engagement, LBJ School of Public Affairs; Chair, Good Systems
Food will be served.
As artificial intelligence technologies advance and increasingly become a part of our lives, the need to foreground ethical decision-making in their development and deployment is as important as ever. In this panel, we’ll explore how ethical principles can be applied to AI development work as well as the types of ethical questions workers should consider more broadly as AI transforms the future of work.
Participants will gain:
- An understanding of the importance of ethical AI development
- Strategies for addressing ethical challenges in the development and use of AI systems
- Knowledge of broader ethical considerations as AI transforms the future of work
Panelists
- Will Griffin, Griffin Media Ventures, formerly Chief Ethics Officer at Hypergiant
- Dr. Steve Kramer, Chief Scientist, KUNGFU.AI
- Dr. Kenneth R. Fleischmann, Professor in the School of Information
Resources
Career Counseling and Coaching for All Majors
Would you like to learn more about honing and articulating your AI skills while at UT, and about using AI in your job or internship search process? Schedule an appointment for one-on-one support with your college or school career center or Texas Career Engagement.
AI Online Learning Opportunities for UT Students
Coursera offers students FREE access to online learning with microcredential and professional certificate programs developed by leading organizations, universities and companies. Students can join the Career Academy for job-function based learning or Top Tech for tech-specific skills. Register here.
Coursera offers the following AI-related content:
- Top Tech – Join the Top Tech Coursera program to access:
- Google – “Introduction to Generative AI” (45-minute module): This is an introductory level microlearning course aimed at explaining what Generative AI is, how it is used, and how it differs from traditional machine learning methods. It also covers Google Tools to help you develop your own Gen AI apps.
- AI – “AI For Everyone” (7-hour short course): What is AI? / Building AI Projects / Building AI in Your Company / AI and Society. This course is super popular, with more than 1 million learners enrolled.
- AI – “Generative AI for Everyone” (6-hour short course): This course incudes three short modules: Introduction to Generative AI / Generative AI Projects / “Generative AI in Business and Society.
- Vanderbilt University – “Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT” (18-hour course): This course introduces students to the patterns and approaches for writing effective prompts for large language models.
- IBM – “AI Foundations for Business” (3-course “specialization”: This specialization covers “focus areas for business leaders considering AI-based solutions for business challenges, including Introduction to Artificial Intelligence / What is Data Science? / The AI Ladder: A Framework for Deploying AI in Your Enterprise.
- IBM – “Applied AI Professional Certificate” (7-course series): This professional certificate offers to “kickstart your career in artificial intelligence,” including a more hands-on elements to help students “learn Python, build a chatbot, explore machine learning and computer vision, and leverage IBM Watson.”
- Career Academy – Join the Coursera Career Academy to access five of the professional certificates that include AI-relevant components. For example, the IBM Data Science Professional Certificate includes the courses “Machine Learning with Python” and “Python for Data Science, AI & Development.” Likewise, the IBM Data Engineering Professional Certificate includes the course “Machine Learning with Apache Spark.”
- We can recommend that students simply search for “artificial intelligence” in the Career Academy library. This search will yield a handful of courses and many shorter resources: 8 guided projects, 37 lessons, and nearly 200 videos.
Forage offers students FREE access to virtual job simulations designed by leading companies such as Accenture, BCG, Deloitte, JPMorgan Chase, and more. We reccomend:
- Cognizant – “Artificial Intelligence” (4-hour job simulation): Advise one of Cognizant’s clients on a supply chain issue by applying knowledge of machine learning models.
LinkedIn Learning offers students FREE access to LinkedIn Learning professional development online learning courses.LinkedIn Learning editors recommend “Advance Your Skills in AI and Machine Learning” (12 items totaling nearly 20 hours).
The following individual course are also popular among LinkedIn Learning users:
- “What is Generative AI?”
- “Introduction to Prompt Engineering for Generative AI”
- “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence”
- “Generative AI for Business Leaders”
- “How to Research and Write Using Generative AI Tools”
- “GPT-4: The New GPT Release and What You Need to Know”
- “Ethics in the Age of Generative AI”