Training the minds behind the AI algorithm
Artificial intelligence may seem like magic, but behind every chatbot, self-driving car, image generator, and digital assistant is math — a lot of it.
As AI transforms industries from health care to finance to entertainment, there’s growing demand for experts who understand the mathematics behind the technology. USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences is helping meet that need with a new Master of Science in Mathematical Data Science — a graduate program designed to train students not just to use AI, but to understand and build it.
“Data science is mathematics,” said Aaron Lauda, divisional dean for the physical sciences and mathematics and professor of mathematics and physics and astronomy. “If you want to understand AI, you have to understand the math that makes it work. That’s what makes this program unique.”