Recent advances in Generative AI are rapidly transforming how we live and work. This lecture course offers a non-technical exploration of its foundational principles, inherent strengths and limitations, and a comprehensive overview of its profound impact on our society and economy. We will delve into critical questions: How will AI reshape labor markets and jobs? What roles will it play in medical research, healthcare, education, entertainment, engineering, transportation, and the legal system? How will it be used - or misused - in democratic societies and autocratic regimes? Will it alter the geopolitical balance of power and the nature of warfare? How can we align these powerful systems with human values? Can machines genuinely create, or possess consciousness? Does the prospect of superintelligence mean the human race is doomed? Will the benefits of this technological revolution be broadly distributed, or accrue to a lucky few? Are we currently experiencing an 'AI bubble'? This course also demystifies essential jargon, such as 'transformers', 'prompt engineering', 'chain of thought', 'hallucination', 'jailbreaking', 'context rot', 'deepfakes', 'stochastic parrots', and 'algorithmic bias'. By equipping students with historical grounding, intellectual tools, ethical frameworks, and psychological perspectives, this course prepares them to thoughtfully navigate the complexities of the AI revolution. (Note: This course is pre-approved for credit at Stanford Law School (SLS) and the Graduate School of Business (GSB). GSB students must enroll in either SYMSYS SYMSYS 122 or INTLPOL SYMSYS 200 for GSB credit. No programming or prior technical knowledge is required.)
1 units · Satisfactory/No Credit
Recent advances in Generative AI are rapidly transforming how we live and work. This lecture course offers a non-technical exploration of its foundational principles, inherent strengths and limitations, and a comprehensive overview of its profound impact on our society and economy. We will delve into critical questions: How will AI reshape labor markets and jobs? What roles will it play in medical research, healthcare, education, entertainment, engineering, transportation, and the legal system? How will it be used - or misused - in democratic societies and autocratic regimes? Will it alter the geopolitical balance of power and the nature of warfare? How can we align these powerful systems with human values? Can machines genuinely create, or possess consciousness? Does the prospect of superintelligence mean the human race is doomed? Will the benefits of this technological revolution be broadly distributed, or accrue to a lucky few? Are we currently experiencing an 'AI bubble'? This course also demystifies essential jargon, such as 'transformers', 'prompt engineering', 'chain of thought', 'hallucination', 'jailbreaking', 'context rot', 'deepfakes', 'stochastic parrots', and 'algorithmic bias'. By equipping students with historical grounding, intellectual tools, ethical frameworks, and psychological perspectives, this course prepares them to thoughtfully navigate the complexities of the AI revolution. (Note: This course is pre-approved for credit at Stanford Law School (SLS) and the Graduate School of Business (GSB). GSB students must enroll in either SYMSYS 122 or INTLPOL 200 for GSB credit. No programming or prior technical knowledge is required.)
Offered in Winter 2026 at Stanford University.