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Hobbies and interests
Coding And Computer Science
Badminton
Hiking And Backpacking
Running
Walking
Saaketh Raghava
475
Bold Points1x
Finalist![user profile avatar](https://static.bold.org/profilePictures/win20230521152641proa057ea8b6f014693bbb5903a33d8c874.webp)
Saaketh Raghava
475
Bold Points1x
FinalistBio
Hello, I am a Cognitive Science major and I am extremely interested in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning
Education
University of California-Merced
Bachelor's degree programMajors:
- Cognitive Science
Miscellaneous
Desired degree level:
Master's degree program
Graduate schools of interest:
Transfer schools of interest:
Majors of interest:
Career
Dream career field:
Computer Software
Dream career goals:
Artificial Intelligence Researcher
Public services
Volunteering
SafeRides — Dispatcher2023 – Present
Future Interests
Advocacy
Volunteering
AI Innovators Undergraduate Scholarship
As an aspiring student in the field of Cognitive Science at the University of California, Merced, my passion for artificial intelligence is a motivating factor in my journey in life. I am interested in artificial intelligence due to its unique intertwined field of human cognition and intelligent machines.
As I hope to become an AI researcher, UC Merced was a great choice for me due to its research opportunities and highly praised cognitive science program. One of the reasons that I am interested in cognitive science is due to its combination of philosophy, linguistics, psychology, neuroscience, and computer science. This will provide me with an excellent foundation to enter the field of AI.
During high school, I participated in many extracurriculars relating to AI, such as the coding club, psychology club, and Inspirit AI. At UC Merced, I plan to seek research opportunities at the AgAID Institute. I also plan to join clubs at UC Merced that will further improve my skills related to AI, such as the Material Research Society, Association for Computing Machinery, Cognitive Science Student Association, Robotics Society, and the Undergraduate Research Journal. Furthermore, I plan to take research internships and collaborate with professors related to machine learning and natural language processing. I will advance my practical experience in AI through personal projects or AI-related internships. This will allow me to put my theoretical knowledge to real-life use. I hope to contribute to projects that involve social responsibility. Artificial Intelligence is at its growing stage right now, and a number of people are panicking. I want to solve this and put the public's mind at ease. For example, during my time with Inspirit AI, I worked on a machine learning model which reduces racial biases in criminal risk assessments. To do this, my team set up a supervised learning problem, which means that we run our model with the input variable x and compare the prediction with the output variable y. Our x variable consisted of many components including age, race, gender, and prior convictions. Our y variable was whether the defendant recidivated within the next two years. We picked these because the RandomForestClassifier’s decision tree structure allows more flexibility and Naive Bayes is faster and has a higher bias and low variance. In the end, we found that the Naive Bayes model found a disparity between the Caucasian and African American false positive results decreased from 41.1% to 7.8%. The RandomForestclassifier model found that the disparity between Caucasian and African American false positive results decreased from 26.3% to 15.7%. This algorithm can help risk assessments help practitioners systematically synthesize information about justice populations at a more accurate pace.
After my undergraduate studies, I plan to continue my education by pursuing a graduate program in AI. Doing this will allow me to not only deepen my understanding but also allow me to meet like-minded people. With all the skills, I would have gained at UC Merced, I would have been appropriately prepared for a graduate program.
Looking beyond my academic journey, I plan to become an AI researcher conducting research at organizations such as DeepMind or Nvidia. I hope to contribute to the growing area that is human cognition and intelligent machines.
In conclusion, my passion for artificial intelligence will motivate me on my path to becoming an AI researcher. Through my bachelor's degree at UC Merced, I will have gained an excellent foundation of knowledge and skills that I will use throughout my life. Due to my degree in Cognitive Science, I hope to develop AI models that not only mimic human intelligence, but also provide insight into human cognition. I am incredibly excited to be part of history and look forward to a future where AI and cognitive science are more socially responsible.