AI: Emergence or Emergency?

(3 Credits)

Questions about whether AI represents a fundamental shift in the human trajectory, a transient phenomenon, or an existential threat animate public debate as automated tools remake daily life. What often goes missing is the broader history of science in which AI is embedded as well as new perspectives on science and technology that emerge when we foreground the intellectual labor of the Gulf. How is the UAE remaking AI, and how is AI remaking the UAE? In this course, blending academic inquiry, practical coding, and fieldwork, students investigate Abu Dhabi's active role in global AI innovation. They compare AI's modes of reasoning with cultural practices of human inquiry across the Hellenistic era, Islamic Golden Age, and Scientific Revolution. Students learn machine learning, neural networks, deep learning, unsupervised and reinforcement learning, and large language models, exploring practical applications in UAE healthcare, public administration, science, and education. Direct encounters with regulatory authorities promoting responsible AI complement discussions on societal impact, culminating in a fieldwork-based debate on the UAE’s role in developing and governing AI.