Basically I know nothing about it. What's the first step? Do I start by selecting my preferred topic(s)? Then start reading papers about it?

If there are any books/videos about it, please suggest.

I'm a third year electrical engineering student, if that's relevant.

I'm a 3rd-semester B .Tech AI student and I need ideas for a semester project. I want something useful, fun to build, and ideally strong enough to grow into a small paper.

Background: strong Python, some C++, DSA, OOP, probability/stats, linear algebra. This semester: DBMS, algorithm analysis, AI, intro data science, differential equations.

What I'm looking for:

- A real problem or open question, not another CRUD app with an 'AI' label

- Doable by one person in one semester

- Public data, or data I can realistically collect

What would you build if you were in my position? Ideas from research, industry, or your own student projects (including ones that failed and why) are all welcome.

Thanks!