This schedule is subject to change, so please check back frequently. If you believe there is an error do let me know! Links to the readings are available in Pweb.
| Date | Topics/Activities | Readings and Deadlines |
|---|---|---|
| F Aug 25 | Introduction to the Course | To-do before the first day of class |
| Module 1: Identities and Ethics | ||
| M Aug 28 | Developing Classroom Norms & Expectations Ability | Excerpts from Disability Visibility. Discussion here |
| W Aug 30 | Race and Ethnicity | Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?, chapters 1, 2, and 4 White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack Discussion here |
| F Sep 1 | Gender and Sexuality | Excerpts from Thick : And Other Essays Excerpts from Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches Discussion here Project 1 available in Gradescope |
| Su Sept 3 | Reflection Essay 1 due in Gradescope | |
| M Sep 4 | Class and Classism | The Priviledged Poor, chapter 1 Listen to Code Switch Podcast episode Discussion Here |
| W Sep 6 | Intersectionality and Oppression | Intersectionality Resource Guide Watch Ted Talk How to do intersectionality Discussion Here |
| F Sep 8 | [Breather Day] | No readings for today. |
| Su Sept 10 | Reflection Essay 2 due in Gradescope | |
| M Sep 11 | Ethics | Feynman's Error: On Ethical Thinking and Drifting. Project 1 Proposal due in Gradescope Discussion Here |
| W Sep 13 | Ethics in the Computer Science Industry | Various codes of ethics and risk mitigation policies. Discussion Here |
| F Sep 15 | Why are we studying this? | Optimize What? Code is Law You are not expected to understand this, chapter 9 Your computer is on fire, introductions Discussion Here |
| Su Sept 17 | Reflection Essay 3 due in Gradescope | |
| Module 2: Algorithms informing Policies | ||
| M Sep 18 | Recidivism | See readings on Pweb Project 1 Product due Project 1 Reflection due in Gradescope Discussion Here |
| W Sep 20 | The Justice System | Weapons of Math Destruction, chapter 5 Algorithms, Correcting Biases Predictive Policing is still racist Project 2 available Discussion Here |
| F Sep 22 | College Admissions | Weapons of Math Destruction, chapter 3 Big Data: A report on Algorithmic Systems, Opportunity, and Civil Rights Discussion Here |
| Su Sep 24 | Reflection Essay 4 due in Gradescope | |
| M Sep 25 | Social Services | Automating Inequality, chapter 3 Invisible Women, chapter 1 Discussion Here |
| W Sep 27 | No Class-Instructor out of town | |
| F Sep 29 | No Class-Instructor out of town | Project 2 due in Gradescope |
| Module 3: Large Language Models | ||
| M Oct 2 | LLM basics | Your Guide to NLP Discussion Here |
| W Oct 4 | LLMs: Promises and Perils | ChatGPT Heralds an Intellectual Revolution What a Precursor to ChatGPT taught us about AI - in 1966 Discussion Here |
| F Oct 6 | Voice Technology | Talk to Me, chapters 1 and 9 Your Computer is on Fire, chapter 8 Discussion Here |
| Su Oct 8 | Reflection Essay 5 due in Gradescope | |
| M Oct 9 | Stochastic Parrots | On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots, plus other readings Discussion Here |
| W Oct 11 | LLMs and academia | Various readings in Pweb Discussion Here |
| F Oct 13 | [Breather Day] | No readings for today. |
| Oct 15 - Oct 20 | No Class - Fall Break | |
| Module 4: Networks and Social Media | ||
| M Oct 23 | Guest Speaker: Dr. Liz Rodrigues | No readings today (No Daily Discussion Today) |
| W Oct 25 | Search Algorithms | Algorithms of Oppression, chapters 1 and 2 Project 3 available Discussion Here |
| F Oct 27 | Social Media Bubbles | Exposure to ideologically diverse news and opinion on Facebook How the Biggest Decentralized Network is dealing with its Nazi Problem Discussion Here |
| Su Oct 29 | Reflection Essay 6 due in Gradescope | |
| M Oct 30 | Online Advertising | Weapons of Math Destruction, chapter 4 You are not expected to understand this, chapter 15 Technically Wrong, chapter 6 Solving the problem of Racially Discriminatory Advertising on Facebook Discussion Here |
| W Nov 1 | Social Media and our Health | Watch Ted Talk by Sherry Turkle Instagram use is linked to increased symptoms of orthorexia nervosa Discussion Here |
| F Nov 3 | No Class-Instructor out of town | |
| Su Nov 5 | Reflection Essay 7 due in Gradescope Project 3 due in Gradescope |
|
| M Nov 6 | Why don't we just ban targeted advertising? Project 4 available in Gradescope and on the Resources page. Topic, readings, and discussion post from Wednesday November 1 |
|
| Module 5: Health Applications | ||
| W Nov 8 | Health Care and Metrics | The Tyranny of Metrics, chapters 1,2,9 Discussion Here |
| F Nov 10 | Health Care and Gender Bias | Invisible Women, chapters 10 and 11 Discussion Here |
| Su Nov 12 | Reflection Essay 8 due in Gradescope | |
| M Nov 13 | Wearable Devices | Limiting racial disparities and bias for wearable devices in health science research Project 4 Proposal due Discussion Here |
| W Nov 15 | Models | In Scramble to respond to Covid-19, hospitals turned to models with high risk of bias More than a Glitch, chapter 8 Discussion Here |
| F Nov 17 | Models, continued | More than a Glitch, chapter 9 Discussion Here |
| Su Nov 19 | Reflection Essay 9 due in Gradescope | |
| Module 6: Robotics | ||
| M Nov 20 | AI Promises and Perils | The problem with intelligence The experience machine Don't be fooled by charismatic robots Discussion Here |
| W Nov 22 | Data Collection | Captcha if you can: how you've been training AI for years without realizing it Underpaid workers are being forced to train biased AI on mechanical turk The Trust Imperative: A Framework for Ethical Data Use Discussion Here |
| F Nov 24 | No Class - Thanksgiving Break | |
| M Nov 27 | Autonomous Vehicles | Autonomous Vehicle Case Study Never Mind the Trolley: The Ethics of Autonomous Vehicles in Mundane Situations Discussion Here |
| W Nov 29 | Robots | Race After Technology, chapter 1 U.S. Watched George Floyd Protests in 15 cities using aerial Surveillance The Problem with Blaming Robots for Taking our Jobs Discussion Here |
| F Dec 1 | Computer Vision | Slick Tom Cruise Deepfakes Signal that near flawless forgeries may be here Using AI to detect seemingly perfect deep-fake Videos Fairness Accountability Transparency and Ethics in Computer Vision Discussion Here |
| Su Dec 3 | Reflection Essay 10 due in Gradescope | |
| M Dec 4 | Concluding Thoughts | See readings on Pweb Project 4 due in Gradescope Discussion Here |
| W Dec 6 | Project 4 Presentations | |
| F Dec 8 | Project 4 Presentations Course evaluations | |
| Dec 11 - Dec 15 | Exam Week | All revisions are due |
