First-year student shifts studies to AI
Lilla Megyeri was unsure about artificial intelligence but now embraces it as a premed student and AI fellow at Carolina.
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 intending to pursue a dual doctoral program combining Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy degrees.
“My real goal is to learn the foundations of human-AI interactions and then apply it to medicine,” Megyeri said. “I plan to become a doctor who utilizes AI in treatment care.”
Megyeri says that she is continuously impressed with Carolina’s commitment to AI and AI research. From the Library AI Studio to a plethora of panels and events — some of which she has participated in — Megyeri believes that Carolina is leading the way in open conversations around AI.
For many, AI is still a source of anxiety. Megyeri is not naïve to this fact and believes using the technology to replace human thought is a real issue. If humans and AI work hand in hand, however, she envisions a great future.
“We cannot control what aspects of our lives AI becomes a part of,” Megyeri said. “But we can control the interactions we have with AI. And those interactions can be valuable.”
