University of Georgia

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a powerful and transformative force that is reshaping many aspects of our society. Its influence spans across a wide range of fields, including healthcare, finance, education, transportation, and entertainment, among others. As AI technology continues to advance, it brings with it both significant opportunities and complex challenges. While AI has the potential to greatly improve efficiency, decision-making, and innovation, it also raises important questions about privacy, security, job displacement, and the ethical implications of its use.

The certificate program, “AI: Friend or Foe?”, is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the potential benefits and risks associated with AI technologies. Rather than simply presenting AI as a technical subject, the program encourages students to engage critically with the broader societal, ethical, and philosophical questions surrounding AI. Through this program, students will not only gain insights into how AI is being applied across various industries but will also be actively involved in exploring the debates about whether AI serves as a positive force for progress or poses a threat to key aspects of human life and society.

This certificate program is designed to engage students in understanding the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in various sectors and its potential implications for the future. The program will feature interactive sessions that combine presentations, debates, and group activities. Students will have the opportunity to delve into AI’s technical side, ethical challenges, and its application in fields like healthcare and law. The below agenda is structured to facilitate open dialogue and critical thinking among students.

Registration Required: https://forms.gle/XigYLYcd7oiSbgaV6

Dates: January 22nd, January 29th, February 5th, March 19th, April 2nd, and April 16th
Location: Miller Learning Center, Room 245

Laptop Required

Service Program Requirements:

  • Attend orientation session
  • Attend all offered presentations
  • Attend and participate in all group activity sessions
  • Non AI and AI essay on selected topic

Orientation registration for the AI Friend or Foe? Certificate Program will open on December 13, 2024. After attending the orientation, participants will receive a Google form to confirm their participation in the program. Registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis, and there will be no waitlist. Once the program reaches its capacity, registration will close.

After successful completion of this program, students will receive a certificate of completion from the Pre-Professional Advising Office.

Detailed Program Agenda:

Introduction to AI – January 22nd

Objective: To lay the foundation for the course by providing an overview of AI’s history, current applications, and key ethical questions.

  • Introduction to AI:
    • Overview of AI’s development from its origins to present-day advancements.
    • Exploration of AI’s various applications across different industries (e.g., healthcare, finance, education).
  • Key Ethical Questions:
    • Is AI a Friend or Foe to Humanity?
    • What are the potential risks and rewards of AI integration into society?
    • Ethical concerns surrounding privacy, security, bias, and accountability in AI.
  • AI’s Impact on Sectors and Everyday Life:
    • How AI is transforming industries such as medicine, transportation, and entertainment.
    • Discussion on how AI is already embedded into everyday life (e.g., virtual assistants, AI-driven recommendations, automated services).
  • Encouraging Student Dialogue:
    • Open floor for students to share opinions and ask questions on AI’s role in the future.
    • Promote critical thinking about AI’s long-term societal effects.

The Technical Side of AI – January 29th (Presentation)

Presenter: Dr. Kyle John (tentative)

Objective: To give students a deeper understanding of the technical mechanisms behind AI systems, including how they are created and their underlying algorithms.

  • Topics Covered:
    • The basics of AI—What is AI? How do machine learning and neural networks work?
    • AI development processes: from data collection to algorithm training.
    • Ethical and practical concerns in AI development: transparency, fairness, and bias in AI systems.

Designing AI Solutions – February 5th to March 19th (Group Activity)

Objective: To provide students with hands-on experience in applying AI concepts to real-world issues in sectors like medicine and law.

  • Group Structure:
    • Break students into small groups of four.
    • Each group will receive a peer-reviewed article related to AI applications in medicine or law.
  • Activity Process:
    • Reading and Discussion: Each group reads their assigned article and discusses a specific question related to it.
      • Example questions could focus on ethical dilemmas, practical challenges, or potential benefits of AI in healthcare or legal systems.
    • Role of Recorder: One student in each group will be tasked with documenting the discussion and taking notes.
  • Interactive AI Demonstration:
    • At the end of the session, students will input some of the questions discussed into ChatGPT or another AI tool and analyze the responses.
    • Discussion: What insights did the AI provide? How did the AI responses align with or challenge group members’ views?

Precision One Health Initiative – March 19th (Presentation)

Presenter: Dr. Richard Lamb (tentative)

Objective: To explore AI’s potential in the healthcare sector, particularly in the context of precision medicine and the integration of AI in patient care.

  • Topics Covered:
    • Introduction to Precision One Health—how AI is helping to create personalized treatment plans for patients based on data.
    • AI applications in healthcare: from diagnostics to treatment recommendations, patient monitoring, and predictive analytics.
    • Ethical challenges related to privacy, data security, and the accuracy of AI-based healthcare tools.

Designing AI Solutions (Continued) – April 2nd & April 16th (Group Activity)

Objective: To deepen students’ engagement with AI by tackling real-world problems through collaborative writing and further AI exploration.

  • Activity Process:
    • Group Task: Each group will receive a random topic related to AI and its impact on society (e.g., AI in education, autonomous vehicles, AI ethics, etc.).
    • Essay Writing: Students will write a 1000-word essay as a group, synthesizing their thoughts on the topic and the ethical implications of AI in the chosen area.
    • Essays will be submitted to the event organizer (me) via email.
  • Interactive AI Demonstration:
    • During the session, we will input a few different topics into ChatGPT and discuss how the AI handles those topics.
    • Students will compare AI-generated insights with their own perspectives and reflect on the role AI could play in shaping public opinion on these issues.
  • Wrap-up Discussion:
    • Summarize key takeaways from both the debate, panel discussion, and group activities.
    • Highlight Ethical Considerations: Emphasize the importance of ethical guidelines in AI development and its use across sectors.
    • Encourage students to continue exploring AI through research projects and independent study beyond the event.

AI in Patient Use – April 30th (Presentation)

Presenter: Dr. Matthew Schmidt (tentative)

Objective: To focus on the practical applications of AI in patient care, particularly how AI is being used to improve patient outcomes in hospitals and medical practices.

  • Topics Covered:
    • AI for Diagnostics and Treatment Plans: How AI assists doctors in diagnosing conditions, recommending treatments, and predicting patient outcomes.
    • Ethical Considerations in Patient Care: Balancing AI assistance with human judgment, patient privacy concerns, and transparency in medical AI tools.
    • The future of AI-enhanced healthcare and the integration of AI into medical devices and decision-making.

By the end of the program, students will have gained a deep understanding of AI’s applications, its ethical challenges, and its role in shaping the future. The event will have provided both theoretical knowledge and practical experience in analyzing real-world issues related to AI. Students will leave with a more informed perspective on the topic, equipped to continue exploring AI’s complexities in their future academic or professional pursuits.