Grad student presents AI research at conference

University of North Georgia (UNG) student Andrew Clements and faculty member Dr. Bryson Payne presented their research at the Information Systems & Computing Academic Professionals conference in Baltimore, Maryland, in November. Their research investigated how well artificial intelligence (AI) can recognize content created by AI, specifically in higher education.

Clements is pursuing a Master of Science in computer science. He began the research for his capstone while earning his bachelor's degree in cybersecurity and also worked on it for his Honors Program thesis.

Payne and Dr. Tamirat Abegaz serve as faculty mentors for Clements, who did most of the research, and the faculty members edited the content into a scholarly article that can be submitted to a journal.

"Andrew has presented and published research as both an undergraduate and graduate student, and his latest paper is a great example of the kind of work our students and faculty do together in the Master of Science in computer science degree program," Payne said. "Detecting machine-generated text and images produced by generative AI is a crucial and timely topic for academia, news agencies, governments, and society as a whole, and Andrew's ongoing work is a significant contribution to the field."

Clements appreciates the hands-on, project-based nature of UNG's academic programs in computer science and cybersecurity, as well as some of the funding and other opportunities.

"Being a senior military college, UNG has good connections you're not going to get anywhere else," Clements said.