BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is looking for high school students in the Birmingham metro who are interested in learning about artificial intelligence.
The software billionaire’s Mark Cuban Artificial Intelligence Foundation will hold an AI boot camp for high school students on Protective Life’s campus for four straight Saturdays from October 23 to November 13.
Students will learn concepts, get hands-on experience, hear from Cuban and other guests and even get lunch, all at no charge.
The camp’s director, Yvette Medina, says kids don’t have to be versed in AI.
“We’re not necessarily looking for kids with a robotics background,” says Medina. “We’re looking for kids who are really excited to learn more about AI. So they kind of vary on the spectrum of being very well versed. We have some kids who are already coding in python and some kids who have never heard of artificial intelligence.”
Medina points out many high schoolers may be using AI daily while using apps like Spotify or Snapchat.
The potential benefits don’t stop once the actual camp is over. Medina says the foundation will work to connect students with tech mentors, local organizations, and even college scholarships.
“The hope is really to just expose kids to people that might not have access to otherwise and just encourage whatever that vision is, whether it’s within artificial intelligence or machine learning, or maybe it’s doing marketing, for example, at a technical company like that, but getting them really excited about the possibilities around artificial intelligence and machine learning, and then just giving them that literacy to understand what that impact is going to look like within their generation, as it relates to their college and career path,” says Medina.
The foundation will chose 20 students based on their answers to questions on the application form, which can be found at markcubanai.org/apply.
The deadline for applications is August 27.
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