Two-day course explores AI capabilities for business

BUFFALO, N.Y. — What do you get when you cross a creative thinker with an enormous amount of data? Key ingredients for harnessing artificial intelligence (AI), and the potential to arrive at new solutions.   

Businesses have a lot to gain by leveraging the explosive field of AI. A new two-day course this summer — intended for the “forward-thinkers” of any organization and industry — will explore AI’s possibilities.

David Doermann, director of the University at Buffalo Artificial Intelligence Institute, will facilitate Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals. It runs 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Aug. 13 and 14 at Baird Research Park, 1576 Sweet Home Road, Amherst. The course is a collaboration between the UB Center for Industrial Effectiveness (TCIE) and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.  

Doermann will introduce what AI is and what it is not: technology that mimics the art of processing and making decisions like a human, and not robotic, repetitive tasks that require no intelligence beyond programming.

“Most of the courses in AI give a little explanation in AI but really focus on the tools to solve specific problems,” Doermann says. “This course will have a little of that. It includes the intro that will allow us to build on what the pros and cons are, and the applications and non-applications of AI.”

Attendees should leave with a greater understanding of AI capabilities, big data analytics, machine learning and problem-solving strategies, as well as an AI perspective when viewing problems within their organization.

Doermann will draw upon his vast experience, which merited his expert testimony at a United States congressional hearing earlier this month surrounding deepfake videos and other AI-manipulated forms of digital media.

Now a SUNY Empire Innovation Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, he previously oversaw research in computer vision, human language technologies and voice analytics at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). He also spent 25 years at the University of Maryland as a faculty researcher focused on analysis and processing of document images and video.    

Doermann aims to raise the comfort level of utilizing AI systems. For example, a health care version might prioritize patients according to health risks, and define those who need extra monitoring. He cautions that mistakes will happen as AI system designs evolve from their primal, non-user friendly state.

“I hope at the end they almost have more questions than they started with,” he says, noting he invites questions and interactive discussion. “I want to get people interested in this area and thinking about AI in a different way.”

Enrollment for Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals is limited. The early bird price of $695 is valid until July 12. Thereafter, the cost is $795.

For more information, contact Mariah Glass at 716-645-8840 or mariahgl@buffalo.edu.