Reading and Discussion: Report and Presentation Final Draft (100 Points)

Assignment Goals

The goals of this assignment are:
  1. Develop expertise in a selected AI topic by engaging deeply with both foundational and contemporary sources.
  2. Practice synthesizing ideas across multiple readings to highlight connections, tensions, and broader implications.
  3. Facilitate an informed, critical discussion with peers about the ethical, technical, and societal dimensions of AI.

The Assignment

Assignment Overview

For this assignment, you will choose one or more readings from the syllabus, including:

  • At least one assigned textbook chapter (e.g., Mitchell, Boden, or Yeh), and
  • At least one related article, video, or supplemental resource from the course reading list.

You will prepare both a written report and a 10-minute in-class presentation that introduces your peers to the topic, provides a critical analysis, and leads the class in a discussion.

Deliverables

  1. Written Report (3–4 pages):
    • Summarize the core ideas of your selected readings.
    • Compare and contrast perspectives across the textbook chapter and supplemental article.
    • Discuss broader implications for AI practice, ethics, or society.
    • Pose 2–3 discussion questions for your peers, designed to spark critical conversation.
  2. In-Class Presentation (10 minutes):
    • Provide a clear overview of the selected readings.
    • Highlight key takeaways and your original insights.
    • Actively guide discussion by asking your prepared questions and facilitating dialogue.

Guidelines

  • Reading Selection: You may choose any chapter/article combination aligned with the course schedule.
  • Connections: Explicitly connect the assigned chapter and supplemental source. How do they reinforce, challenge, or extend one another?
  • Discussion Leadership: Prepare thoughtful, open-ended questions. Anticipate multiple perspectives, and be ready to encourage participation.
  • Citations: Use APA or MLA style for references.

Getting Started: Possible Topics

Here are some suggested themes, each anchored in syllabus readings:

1. What Is AI? — Historical and Philosophical Perspectives

  • Core: Mitchell Chapter 1; Boden Chapters 1–2
  • Supplemental: Bush’s As We May Think; Mensch’s Embodiment and Intelligence
  • Angles: How have early visions of intelligence shaped current AI? What philosophical questions remain?

2. Neural Networks: From Math to Meaning

  • Core: Mitchell Chapters 2 & 6; Boden Chapters 11–12
  • Supplemental: Bhaskar’s or Zhang’s guides to neural networks
  • Angles: What are the strengths and limitations of neural networks? How does building one deepen understanding?

3. Transformers and Attention

  • Core: Mitchell Chapter 16; Boden Chapters 3–4
  • Angles: Why did transformers revolutionize AI? What does it mean for a machine to “attend”?

4. Representation Learning and Embeddings

  • Core: Mitchell Chapters 11–12; Boden Chapter 15
  • Angles: How do embeddings capture meaning? What risks arise when representations encode bias?

5. Generative AI and Creativity

  • Core: Mitchell Chapters 5 & 8; Boden Chapters 8–9
  • Supplemental: AI Psychosis (Psychology Today)
  • Angles: How do generative models extend or challenge creativity? What psychological risks arise?

6. Prompting and Context Engineering

  • Core: Mitchell Chapter 7; Boden Chapter 10
  • Supplemental: Apple Intelligence Instructions (The Verge)
  • Angles: Is prompt engineering a technical skill, a creative art, or both?

7. Bias, Equity, and Discrimination in AI

  • Core: Mitchell Chapters 9–10; Boden Chapter 6
  • Supplemental: APA equity article, Dept. of Ed. report, Coded Bias (film), Are We Automating Racism? (YouTube)
  • Angles: How do datasets reproduce inequities? What safeguards are needed in practice and policy?

8. Hallucinations and Reliability of AI

  • Supplemental: Can LLMs Generate Novel Research Ideas? (arXiv)
  • Angles: What does it mean for AI to “hallucinate”? Can hallucinations be productive?

9. Intellectual Property and Data Provenance

  • Core: Boden Chapter 5
  • Angles: Who owns AI-generated content? How do copyright and provenance shape fairness?

10. AI Governance, Policy, and Human Oversight

  • Core: Mitchell Chapter 3; Boden Chapter 5
  • Supplemental: Governance policy readings
  • Angles: How can regulation and innovation balance? Who should shape responsible AI?

11. Explainable AI and Safety Mechanisms

  • Supplemental: Llama Guard (Inan et al.); More Questions than Answers (Chenneville et al.)
  • Angles: Can AI ever truly be transparent? What does “explainability” mean for different stakeholders?

Submission

  • Written Report: Submit to the course LMS before class on the day of your presentation.
  • Presentation: Present live in class, using slides or other visual aids if desired.

Submission

In your submission, please include answers to any questions asked on the assignment page, as well as the questions listed below, in your README file. If you wrote code as part of this assignment, please describe your design, approach, and implementation in a separate document prepared using a word processor or typesetting program such as LaTeX. This document should include specific instructions on how to build and run your code, and a description of each code module or function that you created suitable for re-use by a colleague. In your README, please include answers to the following questions:
  • Describe what you did, how you did it, what challenges you encountered, and how you solved them.
  • Please answer any questions found throughout the narrative of this assignment.
  • If collaboration with a buddy was permitted, did you work with a buddy on this assignment? If so, who? If not, do you certify that this submission represents your own original work?
  • Please identify any and all portions of your submission that were not originally written by you (for example, code originally written by your buddy, or anything taken or adapted from a non-classroom resource). It is always OK to use your textbook and instructor notes; however, you are certifying that any portions not designated as coming from an outside person or source are your own original work.
  • Approximately how many hours it took you to finish this assignment (I will not judge you for this at all...I am simply using it to gauge if the assignments are too easy or hard)?
  • Your overall impression of the assignment. Did you love it, hate it, or were you neutral? One word answers are fine, but if you have any suggestions for the future let me know.
  • Using the grading specifications on this page, discuss briefly the grade you would give yourself and why. Discuss each item in the grading specification.
  • Any other concerns that you have. For instance, if you have a bug that you were unable to solve but you made progress, write that here. The more you articulate the problem the more partial credit you will receive (it is fine to leave this blank).

Assignment Rubric

Description Pre-Emerging (< 50%) Beginning (50%) Progressing (85%) Proficient (100%)
Analysis (25%) Outlines key ideas with concise summaries. Explains core ideas with relevant detail and early examples. Develops a clear, accurate analysis supported by well-chosen examples. Provides a comprehensive, insightful analysis that connects ideas to broader implications.
Integration of External Sources (25%) References a small set of relevant sources to ground claims. Uses multiple credible sources and connects them to the argument in most places. Integrates a range of authoritative sources to strengthen claims throughout. Synthesizes diverse, authoritative sources seamlessly to build a compelling argument.
Synthesis and Original Insight (25%) Combines ideas at a basic level with some personal perspective. Connects ideas with emerging original perspective and interpretation. Synthesizes perspectives with clear original contributions and implications. Offers sophisticated synthesis and original, thought-provoking insights with practical implications.
Organization and Writing Quality (25%) Presents a basic structure that communicates central ideas. Organizes content logically with generally clear prose and citation. Provides a well-structured, coherent narrative with appropriate citation and style. Delivers a polished, professional manuscript with excellent flow, style, and precise citation.

Please refer to the Style Guide for code quality examples and guidelines.