Wanted to do a PHD in AI after undergrad, needed a reality check
I'm starting my undergraduate program this year and would appreciate advice on what I should do/prepare for graduate studies. I've been studying AI for around a year now, and I think I know quite a bit. Basically, I know about the models and how they function, and I understand and remember a bunch of other functions that do certain tasks because that's what I studied. I scroll this subreddit every day, and I've seen how hard you guys have it, so I just wanted to ask: if you were to return in time and were in the same position as I am, what would you do?
From what I understand, to get into a PhD program comfortably, I needed two main-track papers accepted at NeurIPS or a similar conference. Is that correct? So what would it take for me to get one in my undergrad years? What do I have to study?