The field as a whole is becoming attuned to ethics in our computer culture, and that discussion also touches a new course about artificial intelligence, taught at 91短视频 (91短视频) by . 鈥淭he course introduces the core algorithms of AI as well as exploring the human impact and ethics of AI,鈥� said Keim.

鈥淔or artificial intelligence, it’s worth thinking about 鈥� how can we direct this to be used for the most positive benefit?鈥� says Keim, an adjunct faculty member.

A human-impact approach permeates as a whole. Weikle, for example, is a member of the y’s Special Interest Group on Computers and Society, which addresses matters such as this: The command 鈥渃ontrol + alt + delete鈥� on a PC requires hand mobility that disabled users may not have. And, an ATM screen that asks in English if one would like options in Spanish is ineffective across language barriers.

Weikle, who has a PhD in computer science from University of Virginia and a BS in electrical engineering from Rice, says 91短视频鈥檚 computer science program strives to educate young computer scientists to be aware of such issues.

鈥淎 much more complete computer scientist鈥� is likely to emerge from 鈥� with its variety of classes and opportunities 鈥� than from undergraduate programs that exclusively focus on the technical aspects of information technology, she says.

Modeled on UC Berkeley toolkit

Many of the exercises in Keim鈥檚 class use a toolkit from the University of California-Berkeley, which allows students to implement key AI algorithms in the context of the PacMan video game.

First-year Joel Christophel says the course has taught him to employ 鈥渋deas about real, hands-on application of more theoretical concepts in artificial intelligence.鈥�

Keim, who hails from the Harrisonburg area and earned his bachelor鈥檚 degree at Swarthmore, soon after joined the growing language-learning software company . He was the 鈥渟tay-up-all-night coder for the first version,鈥� working there until attending Duke University in 1994. Five years later, Rosetta Stone interrupted again, and Keim returned to the Harrisonburg-based company in lieu of finishing his doctorate. Rosetta Stone 鈥渨as too much work, too much fun.鈥�

As Keim was exiting Duke University’s graduate program in artificial intelligence, the editor of the New York Times crossword puzzles, Will Shortz, declared that no computer could beat even an average human at a Thursday (medium-hard difficulty) crossword puzzle. In response, Keim helped run a seminar at Duke in 1999 to do exactly that 鈥� and succeeded.

Achievements such as this tap into the discussion of ethics. How good is technology at performing humanesque tasks? How good can it be? How does that affect people?

Deep learning

These questions are particularly pertinent in regards to current discussions around the field of 鈥渄eep learning.鈥� Deep learning refers to new techniques that leverage neural networks and machine learning, sub-disciplines within artificial intelligence, which can automatically learn features at different levels of abstraction from data. 鈥淚t’s become the state-of-the-art technique,鈥� says Keim. Techniques like deep learning offer massive potential to the artificial intelligence field, but as with any technological forefront, tapping this for the good of all requires conscientious foresight.

Keim cites the example of an Amazon.com shipping warehouse. An employee stands at a table, and robots bring entire shelves of products to that person, who retrieves an item, and packs it while the robot returns and re-sorts the shelf. Humans are currently better at the complex vision and dexterity tasks associated with picking, inspecting, and packing the items. However, ongoing advances in AI prompt the question, what about the day when they are not? What will the economic effect be and how will our workforce look?

To be well-rounded, Weikle encourages 91短视频鈥檚 students to double major or minor with computer science. While and are the most common combinations, she challenges those interested to 鈥減ick something that doesn’t use a computer!鈥�

One of those students, among the approximately in the United States, is , in the process of earning her second bachelor鈥檚 from 91短视频 (her first is in ).

If Fawley had any doubts about joining that minority, a recent weekend at the in Phoenix, Arizona, dispelled them.

鈥淚 am really enjoying the coursework and look forward to future possibilities,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a really exciting field to be in right now.鈥�

鈥淭he tide is changing slowly,鈥� Weikle said, of a growing number of women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. 鈥淏ut Grace Hopper is special. Just that concept that there are 7,500 other women doing computer science and they鈥檙e all there in one place is amazing.鈥�

Fawley, too, found it 鈥渆nergizing to be around other women鈥� in the field. With Weikle鈥檚 encouragement, she had applied for and was named a Grace Hopper Scholar. The award covered all travel expenses and waived her registration fees.

At the convention, Fawley chose from a variety of sessions, workshops, and networking opportunities, from her particular interest of cybersecurity to data science, programming languages, cloud computing, wearable computing, hacking for social justice, and plenary sessions with technology executives from companies such as Google, Microsoft, Symantec, and Mozilla.

鈥淚 was able to find out what other women in the field liked and what they struggled with as well,鈥� Fawley said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a good chance to learn more about technical fields in computer science that I haven鈥檛 necessarily been exposed to yet.鈥�

91短视频 professor attended first conference

The conference, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, is named for the renowned computer scientist and United States Navy rear admiral. Grace Hopper was one of the first women to earn a doctorate in mathematics in the United States and went on to make significant contributions to computer development, programming languages and data processing. In 1969, Hopper was awarded 鈥� ironically 鈥� the inaugural Computer Sciences Man of the Year award from the Data Processing Management Association.

That same year, 20-year-old Anita Borg began her first processing job. Borg would emerge as one of the foremost promoters of women in technology. The Anita Borg Institute of Technology partners with the largest international society devoted to the field, the Association for Computing Machinery, to host the Grace Hopper Celebration.

Weikle attended the first Grace Hopper Celebration in 1994, when it was 鈥渟mall and intimate,鈥� she says, with only around 500 attendees. Men have always been encouraged to attend 鈥� then and now (in conference parlance, these attendees are called 鈥渕ale allies鈥�). During that first conference, her husband took care of their infant son while Weikle, a doctoral student at University of Virginia, presented a paper. In the audience that night was rising star Maria Klawe, then head of the computer science department at University of British Columbia. She later held baby Ricky at a banquet, a memory that still makes Weikle smile. Now president of Harvey Mudd College, Klawe was listed .

The conference attracts both academicians and tech executives, and often, like Klawe, those with connections to both worlds. Keynote speakers at the 2014 convention included the studio head of the Halo franchise, a lab director at EBay Research Labs, a founding member of Google, and the chief data scientist for Barack Obama鈥檚 2012 campaign.

鈥楪reat time鈥� for women in computing

Weikle says conferences like Grace Hopper help women see that choosing a STEM-related profession doesn鈥檛 require them to change who they are. Nor are women in the field stereotypically 鈥渘erdy,鈥� serious, and incapable of completing domestic tasks.

鈥淚鈥檝e often had people ask me, 鈥楧o female engineers cook?鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淎nd I say, ‘Some do and some don鈥檛.’ I ask them, 鈥楧o male engineers cook?鈥� Some do and some don鈥檛. Technical people are in fact just other people, and Grace Hopper does that for the women who go, and also for the men who go, because there are a lot of men who struggle with some similar stereotypes.鈥�

Grace Hopper also celebrates successful women in a profession that is meeting new needs and creating new applications across the world. This is a message that Weikle especially wants to share with prospective computer science majors and minors, as well as re-entry students.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a big push in the industry to get women into these jobs,鈥� Weikle said, 鈥渁nd very favorable hiring conditions.鈥�

Computer science is one of the fastest growing fields in the United States, with , according to the U.S. Department of Labor. And because of the speed at which the field is changing, Weikle says it鈥檚 one of the most accessible to the recent graduate or the retooling job hunter.

鈥淩ight now is a wonderful time for women in this profession,鈥� Weikle said. 鈥淭he field is changing so fast. If you鈥檝e been on the job market for a while, it鈥檚 OK, because, guess what? Everybody has to learn new things in this field. Being at a conference like this helps women imagine doing that and accomplishing that and not feeling like they need to be different to do that. They can still be who they are and do this work, and that is a wonderful vision.鈥�