Courses
Courses Taught By SERI Professors and Post-Docs
Preventing Human Extinction
99.9% of all species that have ever inhabited Earth are now extinct, including 12 species of the genus Homo. The threat of human extinction is global, and it is driven by social, economic, technological and political forces operating at global scales. This course will explore several plausible scenarios by which human extinction (or near-extinction) could occur within the next 100 years. In this course, we will study the psychological, social, political, economic and epistemological barriers that frequently derail efforts to avert these catastrophes. We will explore diverse approaches to understanding these risks, strategies that could reduce them, and better ways to think and act as we move into an uncertain future. Students will engage these issues through academic reading, apocalyptic fiction, group discussion and writing. We will consider the role of human agency in the evolution of these risks and their prevention, and our responsibilities as 21st-century citizens.
Offered Spring Quarter by Paul Edwards and Steve Luby for 4 units
Introduction to AI Safety
As we delegate more to artificial intelligence (AI) and integrate AI more in societal decision-making processes, we must find answers to how we can ensure AI systems are safe, follow ethical principles, and align with the creator's intent. Increasingly, many AI experts across academia and industry believe there is an urgent need for both technical and societal progress across AI alignment, ethics, and governance to understand and mitigate risks from increasingly capable AI systems and ensure that their contributions benefit society as a whole. Intro to AI Safety explores these questions in lectures with targeted readings, weekly quizzes, and group discussions. We are looking at the capabilities and limitations of current and future AI systems to understand why it is hard to ensure the reliability of existing AI systems. We will cover ongoing research efforts that tackle these questions, ranging from studies in reinforcement learning and computer vision to natural language processing. We will study work in interpretability, robustness, and governance of AI systems - to name a few. Basic knowledge about machine learning helps but is not required.
Offered Spring Quarter by Max Lamparth for 3 units
Introduction to AI Governance
As we increasingly integrate AI into our lives, addressing the challenges that arise requires both technical expertise and governance strategies. This course empowers students to navigate the complex intersection of technology and policy, equipping them with the tools to understand and shape the future of AI governance. Designed for students from all backgrounds, the course explores AI governance at the organizational, national, and international levels. Through in-depth analysis of current frameworks and mechanisms, students will assess how governance relies on technical measures and examine their feasibility within today's technological landscape. More details at https://web.stanford.edu/class/sts14/index.html
Offered Winter Quarter by Max Lamparth for 3-4 units
Technology, Agency, and Power: AI and Changing Human-Machine Relations
Artificial Intelligence (AI) increasingly permeates many facets of our life, from health care to education to changing labor relations to international politics and security. AI technologies also influence our relationship with "technology" itself and pose fundamental questions of what it means to be human and who (or what) possesses agency. At the same time, these socio-technical realities are reflected in and reproduce existing power relations on a political level. This course draws on theories from Science & Technology Studies to explore AI as a socio-technical system. We start by asking: What is technology? How does agency develop out of and within socio-technical systems? What does agency mean and where do we have agency? We explore the political dimensions of human-machine relations, including different understandings of social relations and hierarchies, and finally reflect on what it means to be human in a world increasingly filled with "intelligent" devices.
Offered Spring Quarter by Anna Ferl for 3 units
Courses We Recommend!
BioSecurity and Pandemic Resilience
Overview of the most pressing biosecurity issues facing the world today. Critical examination of ways of enhancing biosecurity and pandemic resilience. Examination of how the US and the world are able to withstand a pandemic or a bioterrorism attack, how the medical/healthcare field, government, and technology sectors are involved in biosecurity and pandemic or bioterrorism preparedness and response and how they interface; the rise of synthetic biology with its promises and threats; global bio-surveillance; effectiveness of various containment and mitigation measures; hospital surge capacity; medical challenges; development, production, and distribution of countermeasures such as vaccines and drugs; supply chain challenges; public health and policy aspects of pandemic preparedness and response; administrative and engineering controls to enhance pandemic resilience; testing approaches and challenges; promising technologies for pandemic response and resilience, communication in a crisis; and other relevant topics. Guest lecturers have included former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Special Assistant on BioSecurity to Presidents Clinton and Bush Jr. Dr. Ken Bernard, former Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. Robert Kadlec, eminent scientists, public health leaders, innovators and physicians in the field, and leaders of relevant technology companies. Open to medical, graduate, and undergraduate students. No prior background in biology necessary. Must be taken for at least 4 units to get WAYs credit. Students also have an option to take the class for 2 units as a speaker series/seminar where they attend half the class sessions (or more) and complete short weekly assignments. In-person or asynchronous online instruction are available. First day of class is the Wednesday of the first week of class.
Taught Winter Quarter by Dr. Milana Trounce for 2-5 units.
Governing Artificial Intelligence: Law, Policy, and Institutions
The regulation of artificial intelligence may present the most pressing policy issue of our time. AI represents more than just a technology or tool; it promises to revolutionize the economy and all social systems. Governments around the world are struggling to keep up with the fast pace of AI development and to adapt existing regulatory regimes to these dramatic changes. This course surveys current and emerging legal, policy and governance challenges related to artificial intelligence. The course will explore regulatory initiatives and proposals from around the world, such as the European AI Act and U.S. Executive Orders, while also examining how existing laws related to privacy, data protection, intellectual property, civil rights, and national security apply to this developing technology. The course will also cover the AI policy debates related to balancing innovation and safety in a variety of contexts, from autonomous vehicles and weapons, to social media and elections. Cross-cutting themes will include: how law and policy affect the way important societal decisions are justified; the balance of power and responsibility between humans and machines in different settings; the incorporation of multiple values into AI decision-making frameworks; the interplay of norms and formal law; technical complexities that may arise as society scales deployment of AI systems; AI's implications for transnational law and governance and geopolitics; and similarities and differences to other domains of human activity raising regulatory trade-offs and affected by technological change. Note: The course is designed both for students who want a survey of the field and lack any technical knowledge, as well as students who are AI experts but wish to learn more about the relevant policy questions and law. Technical knowledge or familiarity with AI is not a prerequisite. Requirements: The course involves a considerable amount of reading plus active classroom discussion. Elements used in grading: Requirements include attendance, class participation and a research paper. After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer, with consent of the instructor, from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement. Research Paper of roughly 25 pages.
Taught Autumn Quarter by Drs. Sanmi Koyejo, Nathaniel Persily, and Rob Reich for 3 units.
Nuclear Strategy, Law, and Politics
Why do states develop nuclear weapons and why do some states, that have the technological capacity to build nuclear weapons, nonetheless refrain from doing so? What are the consequences of new states deploying nuclear weapons? Do arms control treaties and the laws of armed conflict influence nuclear proliferation and nuclear war plans? What is the relationship between the spread of nuclear energy and the spread of nuclear weapons? We will first critically examine the political science, legal, and historical literature on these key questions. Students will then design and execute small research projects to address questions that have been inadequately addressed in the existing literature.
Taught Autumn Quarter by Drs. Tom Dannenbaum and Scott Sagan for 3-5 units.