College Students Flock to a New Major: A.I.; The New York Times, December 1, 2025

 Natasha Singer, The New York Times; College Students Flock to a New Major: A.I.

"Artificial intelligence is the hot new college major...

Now interest in understanding, using and learning how to build A.I. technologies is soaring, and schools are racing to meet rising student and industry demand.

Over the last two years, dozens of U.S. universities and colleges have announced new A.I. departments, majors, minors, courses, interdisciplinary concentrations and other programs.

In 2022, for instance, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology created a major called “A.I. and decision-making.” Students in the program learn to develop A.I. systems and study how technologies like robots interact with humans and the environment. This year, nearly 330 students are enrolled in the program — making A.I. the second-largest major at M.I.T. after computer science.

“Students who prefer to work with data to address problems find themselves more drawn to an A.I. major,” said Asu Ozdaglar, the deputy dean of academics at the M.I.T. Schwarzman College of Computing. Students interested in applying A.I. in fields like biology and health care are also flocking to the new major, she added."

Ethics In AI: Why Values For Data Matter; Forbes, December 18, 2020

Marc Teerlink, SAP, Global Vice President of Intelligent Enterprise Solutions & Artificial Intelligence, Forbes; Ethics In AI: Why Values For Data Matter

"The Double-Edged Sword of AI and Predictive Analytics

This rising impact can be both a blessing and a concern. It is a blessing — for example when AI and Predictive analytics are using big data to monitor growing conditions, to help an individual farmer make everyday decisions that can determine if they will be able to feed their family (or not).
Yet it can also be real concern when biased information is applied at the outset, leading machines to make biased decisions, amplifying our human prejudices in a manner that is inherently unfair.

As Joaquim Bretcha, president of ESOMAR says, “technology is the reflection of the values, principles, interests and biases of its creators”...

What’s the takeaway from this? We need to apply and own governance principles that focus on providing transparency on how Artificial Intelligence and Predictive Analytics achieve its answer.

I will close by asking one question to ponder when thinking about how to treat data as an asset in your organization:

“How will machines know what we value if we don’t articulate (and own) what we value ourselves?” *

Dig deeper: Want to hear more on ethics in AI, transparency, and treating data as an asset? Watch Marc’s recent masterclass at Web Summit 2019 here. 

*Liberally borrowed from John C Havens “Heartificial Intelligence”"

4 Big Takeaways from Satya Nadella's Talk at Microsoft Build; Fortune,, May 7, 2018

Jonathan Vanian, Fortune; 4 Big Takeaways from Satya Nadella's Talk at Microsoft Build

"Microsoft Believes in AI and Ethics

Nadella briefly mentioned the company’s internal AI ethics team whose job is to ensure that the company’s foray into cutting-edge techniques like deep learning don’t unintentionally perpetuate societal biases in their products, among other tasks.

 He said that coders need to concentrate on building products that use “good A.I.,” in which the “the choices we make can be good choices for the future.”

Expect more technology companies to talk about AI and ethics as a way to alleviate concerns from the public about the tech industry’s insatiable appetite for data."

Ethics And Artificial Intelligence With IBM Watson's Rob High; Forbes, June 13, 2017

Blake Morgan, Forbes; Ethics And Artificial Intelligence With IBM Watson's Rob High

"Artificial intelligence seems to be popping up everywhere, and it has the potential to change nearly everything we know about data and the customer experience. However, it also brings up new issues regarding ethics and privacy.

One of the keys to keeping AI ethical is for it to be transparent, says Rob High, vice president and chief technology officer of IBM Watson...

The future of technology is rooted in artificial intelligence. In order to stay ethical, transparency, proof, and trustworthiness need to be at the root of everything AI does for companies and customers. By staying honest and remembering the goals of AI, the technology can play a huge role in how we live and work."

More Companies Say Targets Are the Key to Diversity; Wall Street Journal, 9/30/15

Rachel Feintzeig, Wall Street Journal; More Companies Say Targets Are the Key to Diversity:

Realizing that simply voicing support for diversity initiatives won’t lead to meaningful change, big companies are setting discrete goals for hiring and retaining women. These include mandating that diverse candidates are interviewed for jobs, and ensuring that new hires get interviewed or vetted by someone other than white men.

J&J, Intel Corp. , BASF SE and many others say putting hard numbers around diversity and tying those numbers to pay and performance helps ensure real progress when it comes to advancing women. Data suggest that the approach makes a difference. But it remains controversial in the U.S., where companies must battle the stigma associated with quotas as well as risks of unintended consequences."