First-year student shifts studies to AI

Source Domain: www.unc.edu

Where some students see artificial intelligence as a threat, first-year student Lilla Megyeri sees the emerging field as an opportunity.

“AI is about to be involved in almost every aspect of our lives,” Megyeri said. “I really like the idea of being able to focus my studies on a topic that encompasses so many different disciplines.”

Megyeri plans on pursuing an interdisciplinary studies major, focusing on the relationship between humans and AI. She also balances her classwork with the responsibility of being an AI fellow for the Library AI Studio.

But Megyeri was not always this passionate about AI.

Originally born in Hungary, Megyeri attended high school in Florida before transferring to Ravenscroft High School in Raleigh. She’s been interested in science for as long as she can remember and initially thought her future lay in chemistry.

“I landed on that because I was interested in natural science at the time,” Megyeri said. “I also liked math, and it seemed like chemistry was the most interdisciplinary of the sciences.”

Over the next four years, AI became more prevalent among her peers. She initially dismissed the burgeoning technology, claiming it simply “wasn’t for her.” But as she prepared to make her transition to Carolina, her interest in chemistry began to wane, and she found herself intrigued by the opportunities AI could offer her.

“Much of my interest is focused on how technology can affect day-to-day life,” Megyeri said. “AI wasn’t just something a computer genius who was coding used — it was being used by everyday people. I started to fall in love with how AI was cross-disciplinary and opened so many opportunities.”

These opportunities are what led Megyeri to pursue an interdisciplinary studies major, where she intends to combine science, mathematics and even the humanities to get a broader understanding of what AI can be used for as the technology continues to evolve.

On top of this, Megyeri is a premedical student…

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