FICO’s Educational Analytics Challenge Visits Bowie State University

Students Learn How Machine Learning Can Help Reduce Financial Fraud

 

MEDIA CONTACT: David Thompson, dlthompson@bowiestate.edu, 301-860-4311

(BOWIE, Md.) – Bowie State University recently hosted FICO, a global analytics software leader, for their Educational Analytics Challenge. More than 50 Bowie State students were educated on how machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) are being used to fight financial fraud, which cost U.S. consumers more than $10 billion in 2023.

“The FICO Challenge is a great opportunity for students to begin developing a better understanding of responsible AI,” said Velma Latson, assistant professor in Bowie State’s Department of Technology and Security. “AI is grounded in data and algorithms, and, if the data is bad, AI results will not be accurate.”

As part of this year’s program, students will be tasked with joining the fight against transaction fraud. Criminals today often commit financial fraud by mimicking legitimate banking behavior to secure billions in customer funds, and banks need to leverage real-time behavior analytics and machine learning models to identify and prevent fraud.

“AI can be positive and negative,” said Ameen Rufai, a Bowie State student majoring in Computer Technology and Security. “We need to use technology to make the world a better place and solve problems and issues. We also need to take note of the negatives associated with AI to protect ourselves.”

In addition to hosting the competition, the FICO Educational Analytics Challenge also provides participating HBCUs with financial support to enhance analytics instruction and career resources so that students will learn about positions available to them after graduation.

“FICO’s Educational Analytics Challenge is focused on bringing practical experiences using machine learning and AI to students at HBCUs to give them unique industry experience on how analytical models are actually being built and deployed today,” said Dr. Scott Zoldi, FICO’s chief analytics officer. “This is the second year of the challenge between Bowie State University, Delaware State University and newcomer Morehouse College in Atlanta. Additional HBCUs will participate in the challenge in the spring semester starting in January 2025 as the program expands from its pilot phase.”

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About Bowie State University
Bowie State University is an important higher education access portal for qualified persons from diverse academic and socioeconomic backgrounds, seeking a high-quality and affordable public comprehensive university. The university places special emphasis on the science, technology, cybersecurity, teacher education, business and nursing disciplines within the context of a liberal arts education. For more information about Bowie State University, visit bowiestate.edu.