Dr. Sion Yoon, Assistant Professor & Program Manager 

The summer quarter is moving fast — we are already more than halfway through the quarter! As the MS in Artificial Intelligence (AI) program manager, I would like to share some information about AI and our MSAI program.  

For those who are not familiar with AI, it is a combination of many different technologies working together to make systems or machines do intelligent things. In AI, an intelligent agent receives information from the environment, performs computations to decide what action to take to achieve the goal, and takes actions autonomously. With learning, its performance can be improved. 

AI is being integrated into various aspects of our lives. Examples include vehicles driving autonomously, robots performing complex surgery, applications identifying nutrient deficiencies in the soil through images, automated systems directing customer calls to a service representative/online chatbots, and more. The potential of AI is infinite, and it is one of the fastest-growing and most transformational technologies of our time. However, filling jobs in this area is proving difficult. In a survey conducted in 2021 by Gartner, 64% of IT executives view the lack of skilled talent as the leading barrier to adopting emerging technologies. Companies are searching for employees with specific education and skills to fill positions particular to AI as there is high demand for jobs in this area. According to ZipRecruiter, AI is expected to grow explosively over the next few decades. 

I’m thrilled to announce that CityU is launching the MSAI program this fall! We are preparing courses to equip students with in-demand skills in AI to help build, improve, and maintain AI systems. Students will learn about the latest AI algorithms, applications, and trends and gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge tools and techniques. For those who are interested and have any questions, please feel free to contact me (yoonhee@cityu.edu).