alt Hacker NewsI don’t really get the dismissive comments here. Universities have had gen ed requirements for years, one of which is usually something to do with computers. AI seems to be a technology that will be increasingly relevant…so a basic gen ed requirement seems logical.
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> AI seems to be a technology that will be increasingly relevant
That's why you don't understand the dismissive comments. The reality is that the technology sucks for actually doing anything useful. Mandating that kids work with a poor tool just because it's trendy right now is the height of foolishness.
Yeah, I'm still bitter I had to pass a literacy exam to get my BA and that was 28 years ago.
And I just know this is going to turn into a (pearl-clutching) AI Ethics course...
These are the same people who would pooh-pooh teaching Excel and basic coding skills to non-STEM majors or have CS students take ethics or GenEd classes.
AI/ML isn't going to completely shift the world, but understanding how to do basic prompt engineering, validate against hallucinations, and know what the difference between ChatGPT and GPT-4o is valuable for people who do not have a software background.
Gaining any kind of knowledge is a net win.
The problem is the field is changing way too fast. It's almost certain that whatever they'll learn will be outdated/wrong/poor practice by the time they graduate. Just compare with the state of things 2 years ago.