Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for decades, but suddenly it seems to be everywhere. Whether we like AI, fear it or try to ignore it, our lives and livelihoods will be changed forever by intelligent chatbots, self-driving vehicles, surveillance drones, precision medicine, robotic art, and more. In six jargon-free sessions, this course aims to help regular people understand modern AI. No experience with computers or programming is required, nor expected. Sessions will cover the past and future of AI, why older forms of AI failed to deliver, and where modern AI and self-guided robots are headed. The human elements of AI will be discussed throughout, including its impact on jobs and AI’s potential to both help and harm us.


Instructors: This course will be co-taught by Dr. Hod Lipson, professor of engineering and data science at Columbia University, and author and technology analyst Melba Kurman. At Columbia, Lipson directs the Creative Machines Lab, where he and his students design and build artificially intelligent robots that can make new robots, paint original art, and physically express human-like emotions. He is one of the world's most-cited academic roboticists and his playful, innovative approach to artificial intelligence has been featured in the New York Times, Quanta, NPR, and TED. In the past, Kurman worked at Microsoft, Cornell University, and at a variety of technology start ups. Kurman and Lipson are frequently invited to speak about technology issues and are the co-authors of two popular technology books, Driverless and Fabricated: the promise and peril of 3D printing. They divide their time between New York City and the Berkshires. Course dates are: Thursdays, April 18, 25, May 2, 9, 16, and 23.