In February of 2023, I received an offer to study MSc in Artificial Intelligence at University of Bath¹ in the UK. Following is the personal statement I submitted as part of my application.

Disclaimer: Personal statements should be personal to you. Please do not copy this personal statement. I am sharing mine as a point of reference only and as a future note to myself.

There is no denying that AI has transformed the lives of individuals and businesses significantly. However, as Professor Andrew Ng highlighted in a recent TED talk, AI remains concentrated within major tech companies. It remains expensive and highly specialised for use effectively by companies operating in other sectors.  Working within supply chain management, I have seen this first hand. Speaking to suppliers, I frequently learn of the struggles concerning the effective utilisation of ERP systems and machine learning to improve production. In addition, many struggle to justify the use of computer visions at inspections. More personally, one of my main tasks over the last 4 years has been to evaluate forecasts as part of the company’s vendor managed inventory system. This forecast was created and maintained via excel and a myriad of formulas. However, streaming from my undergraduate studies, particularly econometrics and statistics, I had a strong inkling that this could be done more effectively. Once again resources were such that developments in ML and AI could not be effectively capitalised. 

Subsequently, after being introduced to data science and AI through a colleague interested in data engineering, I found myself fascinated with the subject. I have undertaken plethora of courses to develop my knowledge and they including: Machine Learning Specialisation by Stanford University & DeepLearning.AI on Coursera, AI Foundations for Everyone Specialisation by IBM Skills Network (Coursera), NLP - Natural Language Processing with Python and Python for Data Science and Machine Learning Bootcamp both by Jose Portilla both on the Udemy platform. These courses have given me a foundation in python and, of data science and AI. Utilising this knowledge, I have also conducted an array of personal projects and secured the status of expert on the platform Kaggle. Such projects include unsupervised learning to identify outliers in exam results and possibilities of utilising social networks in complex legal matters and generative AIs and their impact on art and literature. I have also created a chatbot using IBM's Watson. 

However, these courses have its limitations as they are often forced to condense the vast quantity of information into a few hours. This often results in methods being taught but lacks dialogue critiquing the methods. As such, I am keen to pursue a MSc in AI to ensure I have a robust grasp of the subject area. The online MSc in Artificial Intelligence on offer at the University of Bath particularly interests me for a  number of reasons. Firstly, its high teaching quality especially in the remit of computer science, ranking in the top 10 for course satisfaction. Secondly, the breath of the course and its offering of a balance of theory and practice. More specifically I am especially keen on two modules that are on offer: Introduction to NLP and Artificial Intelligence as a Social and Political Practice. 

I am keen to develop my knowledge in NLP as whilst I have undertaken a short course, some aspects such evaluating model performance were limited. In addition, I am particularly fascinated in how AI can be used to aid in combating fake news, having attempted a project in this remit. Moreover, as a bilingual, I am keen to understand how concepts of NLP can be altered to function in languages that are significantly different from English. 

Artificial Intelligence as a Social and Political Practice is also a module that I am highly interested in as I frequently enjoy learning about the law and social commentary. For instance, during the autumn of 2022, news emerged that an AI, FN Meka, was signed to a major record company, Capitol Records. The discourse not only involved fears around the future of artists and music but also on AI reinforcing negative stereotypes. Likewise, experts were also keen to emphasise the legal implications of contracts and other matters. Furthermore, options on this issue are frequently polarised. Conducting my own research into the topic, I found that some concerns were exaggerating issues whilst others were indeed justified. Aspects such as this have contributed to a palpable desire to undertake this module and the broader MSc in AI. My hope is that through such study, I will not only have  the relevant resources to fully understand the discourse around the impact of AI but also ensure that when I do share my thoughts on the topic, I am able to do so with confidence. 

I also hold a robust background in mathematics required for the online MSc in Artificial Intelligence. I have two As in both mathematics and further mathematics and have undertaken a number of mathematics modules in university as part of my undergrad. I am also currently undertaking the Mathematics for Machine Learning Specialization by Imperial College London on Coursera to further enforce my understanding of the subject area. 

My ultimate goal is to craft a career in AI, bringing my unique background steaming from not only manufacturing but also as someone who has spent a significant proportion of their career navigating the cultural differences of Japan and the UK. I hope that such experiences would enable me to be a voice for AI that is inclusive and works for SMEs that drive the economy and at the same time ensure that it is an AI that does not cause unforeseen harm to others, especially minorities. Finally, I also thoroughly enjoy researching and undertaking AI projects and I hope an MSc in AI would ensure that I can continue this with a more robust foundation. 

[1]: https://online.bath.ac.uk/online-courses/msc-artificial-intelligence