After earning an undergraduate degree in computer science and data science at the University of California, Berkely, James Weichert  was looking for a research-based computer science graduate program back home in Virginia. That search led him to Virginia Tech and the Sanghani Center.  He will graduate with a master’s degree in May.

“I knew I wanted to focus on artificial intelligence but wasn’t sure what aspect of it would fascinate and engage me the most,” Weichert said. “But then I realized that I could combine my interest in AI ethics with my love for teaching and my thesis work attempts to tie those two strands together. 

“It was also serendipitous that, at the time I was planning out my research direction, my advisor, Dr. Hoda Eldardiry, was conducting research on an NSF grant centered on AI ethics education which I have been fortunate to work on in tandem with my thesis," he said. "The grant has also afforded me the opportunity to work with colleagues from the Engineering Education Department.”

In his research, Weichert explores the role of computer science students as both consumers of and learners about AI technologies. He is interested both in what government policies might shape the development and use of AI, and in how   students are taught about AI and its impacts on society. His thesis work includes a two-lecture “AI Policy Module” that he created and presented to a graduate-level introductory machine learning class. 

“This module is meant to go beyond the surface-level treatment of ‘AI ethics’ and look at how we can establish tools, policies, and governance structures to ensure the responsible development and use of AI,” Weichert said. 

His published papers include: "Computer Science Student Attitudes Towards AI Ethics and Policy: A Preliminary Investigation," at the IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS) 2024;  "‘Do I Have to Take This Class?’: A Review of Ethics Requirements in Computer Science Curricula," which will be presented at the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE) 2025 later this month. A third paper, “Perceptions of AI Ethics Policies Among Scientists and Engineers in Policy-Related Roles: An Exploratory Investigation,” was recently accepted by Digital Society journal.

Weichert said that the Sanghani Center has been a great place to be as a graduate student because of the diversity of the research endeavors of its labs and faculty. “While my research focus is on AI ethics and policy, I work in the same space and engage with other graduate students working on graph-based machine learning, data visualization, and computational biology,” he said.

Since discovering how much he enjoys teaching computer science and data science courses, Weichert is pursuing a teaching position after graduation.