Literacy for AI in Life and Society
This is CS304I, a 3-credit-hour course focusing on the Essentials of AI in Life and Society.
There are no prerequisites for this course. Only your curiosity and willingness to explore are needed - no technical knowledge is required.
Course Description
This class is a 3-credit-hour course designed to be an introduction to Artificial Intelligence that is accessible to non-majors. Each week, students will be required to complete pre-class reflections by Monday, based on assigned readings and recorded lectures. Then, on Wednesdays they will be required to attend a live session with the instructor that covers topics raised in the students' written reflections, as well as small group discussions on assigned topics. They will also be asked to complete 5 non-programming assignments designed to familiarize them with AI algorithms and paradigms, as well as a final project reflecting on the societal implications of a specific AI technology.
This course was designed collaboratively by the Computer Science Department and Good Systems, and is the third iteration of an extended 3-credit-hour version of the course which was first offered in the Fall of 2024. It is based on a preliminary, 1-credit-hour version of the course which was offered in the Fall of 2023, and was described in a 2025 publication at the Symposium on Educational Advances in Artificial Intelligence entitled "The Essentials of AI for Life and Society: An AI Literacy Course for the University Community" [Link].