Dr. Rumman Chowdhury tells USP Students: You Still Have Employment in the Age of AI! Plus Other Insights!

Excited to welcome 🇺🇸 AI Expert and Science Envoy, Dr Rumman Chowdhury to campus today.

We had some interesting discussions on how USP can leverage its position as Chair of CROP ICT WG to advance regional priorities related to AI and Cyber Security via Education and Research. pic.twitter.com/UM7BzH1q77

— Professor Pal Ahluwalia, USP VC (@pal_vcp) August 7, 2024

Dr. Rumman Chowdhury and USP Vice Chancellor, Professor Pal Ahluwalia, after the seminar yesterday (Supplied: X/Twitter)

Dr. Chowdhury Addresses Students & Professionals at USP

At the Japan-Pacific ICT Centre in the University of the South Pacific’s (USP) Laucala Campus , U.S. Artificial Intelligence envoy and Chairlady/Founder of Humane Intelligence, Dr. Rumman Chowdhury addressed a collection of university students; multimedia professionals and academics yesterday at midday on the importance of ethics in AI usage, agentic AI and her journey in the development of AI and parameters of AI.

Difference Between AI Applications in Developed Countries and in the Pacific

Dr. Chowdhury acknowledged that the development of Large Language Models (LLMs) and other AI products has often been focused in the developed countries such as the U.S., Canada, India, Japan, etc. and not so much in the Third World. Dr Chowdhury, when answering a sociology professor from USP,  said that AI is often trained based on Eurocentric values and norms; thus, there would be a failure of most AI systems to recognise cultural nuances and norms peculiar to the Pacific.

Agentic AI: What, Where, Why, and How?

Dr. Chowdhury delved further into the presence of Agentic AI, which is Artificial Intelligence that has agency; that is, AI which is capable of making decisions and carrying out tasks on behalf of humans. Dr. Chowdhury projected that such models can easily carry out scheduling, representation, control and organisation tasks which are currently done by humans in order to save time. When questioned by a representative of Pacific Islands AI whether such AI models would be useful towards easing Pacific Governments’ expenditure on diplomatic and academic engagements; Dr. Choudhury did not choose an angle but examined both the importance of human touch and the efficiency component, ultimately conceding that the human connection outweighs the efficiency of Agentic AI’s usage in such areas.

But Will Students Be Endangered by AI?

Dr. Chowdhury was optimistic that jobs for USP students would not be endangered, and that particularly in lower ranks of employment there would not be any sort of noticeable impact, quoting a survey which found that 50% of job losses due to AI would be at higher levels of management, not at entry level (which only yielded 8%). In answering a question from an Economics student, Dr. Chowdhury said that data science and its practitioners particularly are to blame for allowing the focus on rote memorisation of one system instead of emphasising critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Dr. Chowdhury advised that knowing the basics of your field is critical when attempting to use AI, as this may influence the value of one’s talent once graduating and entering the workforce.

Warm Reception by USP Audience

Dr. Chowdhury was well received by the students and faculty, and was mobbed by the students for selfies, photos and questions which were not able to be asked during the seminar. Refreshments were plenty, and all were receptive to Dr. Chowdhury’s words of wisdom as regards AI. Dr. Chowdhury also later spoke at the Carnegie Library in Suva.

*An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.