CS357: Foundations of AI

Bill Mongan

Welcome to CS357!

About Me

  • Born in Delaware County, PA
  • Married in Carmel, CA in 2015

About Me

  • Upper Darby High School Class of 2000
  • Drexel University Class of 2005
  • Completed my PhD at Drexel in 2018

Picture of Me

About Me

  • I am a private pilot who loves to travel

About Me

  • We love animals
  • … plus some occasional visitors!

About Me

  • I use computing (specifically Machine Learning and Signal Processing)…
    • To improve public health
    • To leverage technology to mitigate side-effects and to improve access to care

What this Course is About

  • Analyze the ethical implications of AI applications in non-pedagogical campus operations, research, and classroom instruction, using case studies and design justice principles.
  • Design tailored AI-driven tools and prompt-engineering strategies that augment human capabilities while adhering to ethical guidelines.

Our Goals

  • Evaluate the effectiveness of AI systems across different disciplines, identifying best practices and potential risks associated with their use.
  • Create documentation and strategic plans for the responsible deployment of AI technologies in campus operations, ensuring that these plans are both practical and ethically sound.

Our Goals

  • Describe the transformative potential of AI in augmenting human creativity, critical thinking, and decision-making processes across various fields.
  • Apply ethical considerations in AI development and deployment, particularly in preventing biases and ensuring equitable outcomes.

Our Goals

  • Articulate the limitations of AI when used out-of-the-box and the need for careful customization and prompt engineering to achieve desired results.
  • Engage meaningfully in cross-disciplinary collaboration in AI research and application, understanding how insights from different fields can lead to more robust and responsible AI systems.

Class Logistics and Culture

  • Class website and syllabus: http://www.billmongan.com/Ursinus-CS357
  • Challenging but fun!
  • Communicate with me and the TA’s often - we enjoy it.
  • If you know stuff, use it for good to help others!