CMSC 116 - You and I, and Generative AI

This course will explore whether and how generative AI can be developed to support human values and promote human autonomy, and how the context of the deployment of AI may impact answers to this question. Entire industries are being transformed by AI technology, much of which is driven by the recent meteoric advances in generative AI: the variety of AI that produces full content, such as documents, images, speech, and video. These advances have enabled many people to do things they previously were incapable of - such as essay writing or adding special effects to home movies - but have also brought about a series of ethical questions around their development and use - such as the role of AI in Hollywood brought into the public eye through the 2023 writer’s strike. These developments raise fundamental questions around whether it is even possible to develop generative AI technology that empowers rather than replaces people, and which serves human values such as rights, justice, and dignity. It also raises the question: Is generative AI different from other technologies that can be used toward both positive and negative ends? Different disciplines have different ways of answering questions around human values, whether it’s the social sciences, the humanities, or computer science. In this course, you will not only learn about the challenges of developing values-centered generative AI technology, but also actively participate in crafting tomorrow’s solutions.