WA’s current list of clubs only has one AI-focused club, at the very top of the list. But when sophomores Avani Athale and Naaisha Agarwal decided to start this AI club, they certainly did not realize that they were not the only ones with this idea. Juniors Pranav Khurana and Tanush Tumula had nearly the same exact idea – and both pilots were approved, leaving WA with two separate AI clubs.
Athale and Agarwal, along with Khurana and Tumula, both launched AI-based pilot clubs in Sept. 2024. Both clubs hold meetings on Thursdays in room 231, and are advised by chemistry teacher Jeffrey Bucchianeri. The proposals were approved by Dean Betsy Murphy, who mistakenly believed that both pairs were members of the same club due to the fact that both groups of students were emailing her at the same time.
Although the only listed AI club is simply called “AI club”, the sophomores’ club is called “AI Visionaries”.
“We wanted a name that reflected the uniqueness and focus of our club,” Athale said. “We liked it since it has a nice abbreviation of AVC and sounds fancy, while reflecting our club’s focus subtly.”
However, the differences between the two clubs extend far beyond just their names and their founders.
AI Club is largely focused on machine learning: how machines learn to recognize trends and patterns and respond to cues, how they are programmed to learn these things, and the math behind how AI works. They aim to teach club members that AI algorithms are something that anyone can understand and learn to create.
“I thought it would be cool to spread knowledge and have people understand that at the core of it, […] it’s really just a bunch of math going on, nothing really fancy,” Khurana said.
On the other hand, AI Visionaries Club is exploring how AI is actually used in real life situations. Additionally, they plan to create and host an annual competition, as well as hosting networking events to allow students to hear from professionals who actively work with AI in their everyday lives.
“I wanted to give students a chance to learn how [AI] was used in industries, rather than learning how it works,” Agarwal said.
According to Bucchianeri, AI Visionaries Club’s first meeting discussed how AI can be used in the field of science to read patient data, such as detecting potential cancerous tissue from mammograms that doctors may have missed.
“[Khurana and Tamula] are building from the ground up [in terms of AI],” Bucchianeri said. “And [Athale and Agarwal] are kind of looking from the top down, seeing where AI is applied and what kind of benefits it has.”
Despite there being several differences in material, there is still a potential overlap, due to the fact that both clubs are still AI clubs. Despite this, Bucchianeri believes that the clubs are fine being separate, at least for their first year. This is due to the fact that the clubs meet on alternating Thursdays, so there is no scheduling issue.
The next AI Visionaries club meeting is next Thursday, Oct. 24th from 2-3 p.m. after school. The following Thursday, Oct. 31st, is the next AI club meeting.
