There is a lot of controversy about the societal implications of AI: Are AI algorithms inherently biased? Should they be allowed to make decisions for humans? Should they be banned from defense applications?

However, what if we could apply AI to Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HA/DR) scenarios to save lives, mitigate damage, and speed up recovery? Would we still be faced with similar ethical quandaries?

This course will provide you with an overview of relevant AI technologies and current HA/DR practices through lectures, class discussions, and guest speaker presentations. It will then ask the question: Can AI be applied to HA/DR in an ethical and impactful manner? This will be addressed through your final project presentation.

We want a diverse body of students in the class so all majors and backgrounds are welcomed. The lectures on technical topics (see syllabus) will include high level primers on the topics and focus on applications rather than implementation details.

Please fill out the course entry form below and come to the first class (Sept 4). If demand > # spots, we will use the form to create a balanced class.