page
Responsible Artificial Intelligence Curriculum Design Project
National Humanities Center Institute for College/University Faculty
Overview Speakers Participants
Artificial intelligence permeates our daily lives—in the ways we conduct business, govern, provide healthcare and security, and communicate. The large-scale cultural and societal implications of these changes—and the ethical questions they raise—pose a serious challenge as we embrace a future increasingly shaped by the implementation of artificial intelligence technology. Inspired by recommendations that emerged from the In Our Image: Artificial Intelligence and the Humanities conference held in spring 2021, the role of the humanities in understanding and harnessing the enormous power and potential of artificial intelligence is clear.
Course Development
Over the past year, the National Humanities Center (NHC) has hosted 23 university faculty in building courses that introduce undergraduates to methodologies developed in humanities disciplines to address the topic of responsible artificial intelligence. Fifteen courses were developed by faculty at participating schools, which included major research universities, liberal arts colleges, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and an HBCU. Faculty represented a wide range of disciplines including literary studies, ethics, cinema studies, government, computer science, data science, philosophy, and gender studies. We recognize that the rise of artificial intelligence affects everyone but not all institutions are prepared and able to host these technology-rich courses without support. By offering curricular guidance and funding, and with assistance from university administrators at each institution, we ensured these courses were registered in the course catalogs at all 15 institutions for the 2023–24 academic year.
NHC Responsible AI Cohort in the News
- “On Humane Tech: The Written Word in a Digital World with Dr. Aarthi Vadde” from the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics, Arizona State University
- “How Artificial Intelligence is being used in Maine, and the potential harms and benefits of AI to society” with Fernando Nascimento on Maine Calling
- “ChatGPT is Here to Stay. What do we do with it?” with Aarthi Vadde on Duke Today
- “Art or Artifice? Is AI Taking the Human out of Humanities” with Elizabeth Callaway in Deseret News
- Arizona State University, “Human Impacts of Artificial Intelligence,” Fall 2023
- North Carolina State University, “Responsible AI and Society,” Fall 2023
- Rice University, “Responsible AI for Health,” Fall 2023
- Texas A&M University, “Ethics of Artificial Intelligence,“ Fall 2023
- The University of Utah, “Responsible AI: A Praxis Lab,” Spring 2024
- The University of Utah, “Writing for Humans in the Age of AI,“ Fall 2023
| Institution | Course | Instructor(s) | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona State University | Human Impacts of AI | Gaymon Bennett, Erica O’Neil | Fall 2023 |
| Bowdoin College | AI Ethics | Eric Chown, Allison Cooper, Michael Franz, Fernando Nascimento | Fall 2023 |
| Case Western Reserve University | Responsible AI: Cultivating a Just and Sustainable Socio-technical Future through Data Citizenship | Timothy Beal, Michael Hemenway | Spring 2024 |
| Davidson College | Critical AI Studies | Raghu Ramanujan, Mark Sample | Spring 2024 |
| Duke University | Artificial Intelligence in Literature and Film | Aarthi Vadde (NHC Fellow, 2020–21) | Spring 2024 |
| George Mason University | Equitable AI | Nupoor Ranade | Fall 2023 |
| Johnson C. Smith University | Responsible Artificial Intelligence | Felesia Stukes | Spring 2024 |
| North Carolina State University | Responsible AI and Society | Huiling Ding | Fall 2023 |
| Rice University | Responsible AI for Health | Kirsten Ostherr | Fall 2023 |
| Swarthmore College | Ethics and Technology | Lisa Meeden, Krista K. Thomason (NHC Fellow, 2021–22) | Spring 2024 |
| Texas A&M University | Ethics of Artificial Intelligence | Glen Miller | Fall 2023 |
| University of California, Santa Cruz | Artificial Intelligence and Human Imagination | Zac Zimmer | Fall 2023 |
| University of Florida | Gender, Race, and Worldbuilding with AI | Hina Shaikh | Fall 2023 |
| University of Georgia | AI for Humans: Learning to Live with AI | Kimberly Van Orman | Spring 2024 |
| The University of Utah | Praxis Lab in Responsible AI | Elizabeth Callaway | Fall 2023, Spring 2024 |
| The University of Utah | Responsible AI in the Literary Imagination | Elizabeth Callaway | Spring 2024 |
| The University of Utah | Writing for Humans in the Age of AI | Elizabeth Callaway | Fall 2023, Spring 2024 |
About the Project
Working in partnership with fifteen of the nation’s top universities and colleges, the Center facilitated the development of undergraduate courses that address ethical questions about the role of artificial intelligence in our world. Each course was designed by a nominated faculty member, and each institution made the course available for credit. Considered together, these courses offer insights into the emerging role of artificial intelligence in our world, and the part post-secondary institutions can play in preparing students to assess the impact and value of those technologies.
Details
Participants developed a semester-long course that addressed key themes and topics in responsible artificial intelligence. With university commitment, these courses were added to the 2023–24 catalog and offered for credit to eligible undergraduate students.
The program provided the following support:
- Five-day institute at the NHC on June 20–24, 2022 with full travel support
- Stipend to individual faculty member for two-year commitment (curriculum design in year 2022–23, course instruction in 2023–24)
- Stipend to university for course support
- Ongoing curriculum design support and facilitation
Participants will reconvene in summer 2024 to share experiences about developing and implementing the courses on their campuses.
For more information, contact Meredith Graham, associate director of Education Programs and Digital Projects.
Facilitators
Charlotte Dungan
Director of Implementation, The AI Education Project
Meredith Graham
Associate Director of Education Programs, National Humanities Center
Sarah Rispin Sedlak, J.D.
Lecturing Fellow, Duke Initiative for Science & Society, Duke University
