On March 30th, 2024, Ir. Dr. Chang Yoong Choon, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), spoke to Senior Middle One students about the AI Generation. As many are aware, we’re entering the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI), where AI plays a role in our everyday lives. Dr. Chang presented and discussed five key points: defining AI, its impact on our future, ChatGPT, preparing for the AI era, and a Q&A session.
(Photo: Ir. Dr. Chang Yoong Choon delivering his talk)
Dr. Chang described AI as computer or machine intelligence, mimicking human abilities such as learning. AI learns from data to enhance its performance, but incomplete or inaccurate data can pose challenges. Dr. Chang highlighted AI’s potential to increase productivity, foster creativity, and create new digital job opportunities for humans.
Different types of AI, such as machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and deep learning each work in different ways. While natural language processing allows computers to understand, interpret and process human language, computer vision allows computers or machines to detect objects. However, the data scarcity and quality of AI are yet to be perfect. AI system requires a large amount of data. Some data may be biased and can lead to inaccurate or unfair decisions. It can also become difficult for us to understand how the AI system makes decisions, making it hard to trust at times.
Therefore, Dr Chang suggests that developing foundational skills, critical thinking, problem-solving skills and creativity has become essential for all learners at their respective educational institutions, as these skills are less likely to be automated by AI. To conclude his speech, he also mentions that it is vital that students build a growth mindset, and learn continuously.
