Grand Challenge First-Year Seminar: AI, Humanity, and the Future of Knowledge and Creativity

Course Number: 66-154

This course addresses the complex challenge of understanding the interplay between artificial intelligence (AI), humanity, and the humanities. It examines how AI transforms humanity’s understanding of intelligence, creativity, and knowledge at both individual and societal levels, while introducing new cultural and ethical dilemmas in the process. Additionally, it explores how the discipline of the humanities—traditionally focused on human culture, history, and meaning—adapts to the unique challenges and opportunities presented by AI.

A defining feature of this course is its emphasis on intercultural and interdisciplinary perspectives, to ensure that students are exposed to a wide range of viewpoints that critically examine the multifaceted ways in which AI influences and is influenced by different cultures, disciplines, values, and traditions. Guest speakers from various fields, including Information Systems, Cultural Studies, Digital Humanities, Computer Science, Engineering, Business, and more, will be invited to share their expertise and insights. Students will engage with critical questions such as how AI challenges traditional boundaries between humans and machines, how the humanities adapt to new forms of machine intelligence, creativity, and knowledge production, how AI systems can perpetuate biases that threaten cultural diversity, and how humanity and the humanities can collaborate to shape AI for ethical and inclusive progress.

Students will develop their written, visual, and oral communication skills through reflective essays, multimedia projects, structured debates, and group presentations, all designed to address real-world challenges. Collaboration will be a central component of the course. Students will work in interdisciplinary and culturally diverse teams on group projects. Peer review, classroom discussions, and debates will allow students to critique each other’s work and refine their ideas, through constructive, culturally aware feedback.

Academic Year: 2025-2026
Semester(s): Spring