Andric Valdez

Andric Valdez is a first-year PhD student at UNAM, specializing in artificial intelligence. He recently spent a month working with SCAI at Sorbonne University.

Hi, Andric. What are you studying?

I am a computer science PhD candidate at UNAM, focused on artificial intelligence and in particular natural language processing. My main research is centered on authorship analysis.
The theory behind authorship analysis is to search or analyse a text in order to extract and obtain relevant info about the text and discover new patterns, styles of writing and so on.
The idea is to build different kinds of text classification models, with a lot of application potential in areas such as marketing, forensics, and more.

What initially piqued your interest in your field?

I have been interested in this topic for a few years. I studied engineering for my bachelor’s, and then decided to apply my skills to this new area of AI with a master’s degree. I found it very interesting, mostly because there are many problems that AI can solve in exciting ways.

You have been at SCAI for a month. What have you been doing here?

Many things! In my first week, I attended a workshop related to NLP (natural language processing); it was very interesting. I met really nice, smart people with very interesting projects and research areas. I’ll take some ideas back with me in my suitcase!
I also presented part of our research work at UNAM, as we’re currently working on an NLP library, which we were able to apply to some projects and problems that researchers are facing here at Sorbonne University. Sorbonne University has its own digital library, encompassing a huge collection of digital documents, so I applied some different methodologies to this library and turned out some interesting results. The idea is to continue working together on this topic.

Did you appreciate the international environment this past month?

The multicultural experience has been the best part of this trip. Meeting people from different countries, from Malaysia to Morocco to France, learning about their food, culture, ways of life and experiences… it’s been wonderful. I have also been staying at the Cité Université, where a lot of students from different countries also live, which has only further enriched my experience.
The French colleagues here were very nice, too. I have learned a lot about how they think, how they work, and this has been very enjoyable, too.

What do you hope to do after the completion of your PhD?

After my PhD, I’d like to work in a big technology company, gain some experience there, and then create my own startup, become an entrepreneur. That’s the long-term goal.
What excites you the most about the future of your field?
I think AI is a relatively new area, with lots of topics to discover and develop. For me, the most exciting aspect is all the applications that AI has and will have in different sectors of society.

What is the biggest misconception about AI?

Many people think AI is coming to replace their jobs. In a way, it’s true, but AI also opens many doors, bringing new jobs and new ways of working. I think there are more benefits than disadvantages. I also think we need to educate the public more about AI.

What would you say to young people interested in studying a similar topic?

I recommend it! AI is going to grow more and more, and we need to be prepared for all of its future applications, so it’s a new area with plenty of opportunity. If you’re studying mathematics or computer science and are enjoying those fields, you’re on a good track to explore the field of AI.

What will you miss the most about your time here?

My experience here at Sorbonne University was very fruitful. I learned a lot and across various aspects of work and life: from academia to culture, food to social enrichment. I also loved the city. Paris is a very beautiful place, and I will really miss its desserts!