OMDS’s New ‘AI for Leaders’ Series Spotlights Practitioners in the Field
Completing class assignments and listening to lectures are critical parts of any higher education experience. But the curriculum for Computing & Data Sciences (CDS)’s Online Master of Data Science at Boston University (BU) layers in another unique element of learning that also benefits students.
The “AI for Leaders” course series shows learners the real-world impact of artificial intelligence (AI) across industries. The required module invites practitioners across varied fields to engage in a lively live-streamed conversation where students can engage and ask questions.
“Our vision is to bring in two types of people who might provide useful insights to the course,” says Director of CDS Online Programs Georgios Zervas. “One is business and policy leaders who use data science and AI to make decisions, and the other is technologists and academic leaders who can introduce our students to cutting-edge techniques.”
Topics covered include incorporating AI into a business strategy, navigating ethical and regulatory considerations, explaining AI-driven decisions to stakeholders, emerging AI technologies and their potential impacts, basic concepts of bias and fairness in AI, and privacy, covering everything from General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to personalization.
“The reason we call this series ‘AI for Leaders’ is because we're really thinking about, ‘How do we get our students to consider the transition from a purely technical role to perhaps a leadership role, a management role?’” says CDS Lecturer Seth Villegas, who conducts the “AI for Leaders” interviews.
His conversations with guest practitioners cover how they entered the data science field and their paths to leadership roles. “We are trying to get the students to understand their roles in a potential future company going beyond the sort of technical skills they're learning day-to-day,” says Villegas.
Speakers are open to networking beyond the classroom. Villegas says students often connect with guests on social media and reach out with questions. “People have a chance to connect a bit more directly through this virtual medium,” Villegas says.
Zervas says the long-term vision is to build a library of “AI for Leaders” episodes that students can browse. OMDS alumni will be invited to sit in on the series in the future, once the program has graduated its first cohort, and Zervas hopes the library will be open to anyone eventually.
The fall 2024 “AI for Leaders” speaker lineup includes Clinical Assistant Professor of CDS and BU Spark! Technical Director Langdon White, formerly of Red Hat, ArtifexAI's Russ Wilcox, Howso's Gaurav Rao, Malaika Ventures' Brahm Rhodes, Violet Data's Andy Lippitt, Roku's Beth Logan, and Intel's Geoff Lowney. (Speakers are subject to change based on availability.)