Data Analytics and AI?

[davewill]

You've got the right idea with doing software engineering first. A bachelor's in Data Science will teach you manage and analyze, but if you want to be able to write software to do those things, you need the CS bachelors then add on the data science curriculum, as electives within your bachelors, certifications, or an advanced degree.

If you want to do software engineering in the AI field, definitely start with a CS degree. You can add AI electives, or self-study, which can be enough to apply AI tech in wider software projects. If you want to work at the bleeding edge of AI, developing machine learning algorithms and the like, you'll want an advanced degree (MS or PhD).