This course provides students with an overview of generative artificial intelligence and its societal impacts. Students learn about how AI and Generative AI work, what we know about their social implications, the risks and harms that can come from uses of the technology, and what we can forecast about where AI is going. The course also focuses on making sense of the critical role of policies (from the classroom to Congress) in not only managing AI, but in shaping its future and discusses how the interactions of technical capabilities and social responses shapes everything from the nature of the technology to what it can actually do. The course covers a range of topics, including natural language processing (NLP), foundation models, automated content generation, AI biases and ethics, the future of work, political applications of AI, and where AI is headed. Students gain a deeper understanding of AI and its potential to transform how we communicate, interact, and live.
Syllabi
- Fall 2025
- Fall 2026
- Winter 2027
Format:
Large lecture class with 2 lecture blocks and weekly GSI-led sections. Students participate in lecture-based activities and work in sections to develop proposals for AI policies at the classroom, institution, and societal levels.
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