AI Applications in the Social Sciences

Undergraduate / Graduate

Artificial Intelligence (AI) describes algorithms constructed to reason in uncertain environments. This course provides an introduction to AI applications in the social sciences. Driven by the rapid increase in accessible big data documenting social behavior, AI has been applied to: increase effective diagnosis and prediction under different conditions, improve our understanding of human interaction, and increase the effectiveness of data management in different social and human services. Random forests and neural networks are among the most frequent AI methods used for prediction, while natural language processing and computer vision contribute to understanding decision-making and improving service provision. We begin with careful consideration for what AI can achieve and where current limitations exist by looking at a variety of real-world applications. We will focus on three core sections: search, representation, and uncertainty. In each section, we will explore major approaches, representational techniques and core algorithms. We will examine the trade-offs between model structure and the algorithmic constraints that this structure implies. The course is driven by hands-on exercises with AI algorithms written in Python. At the end of the term, you should be able to apply and tweak these algorithms to accommodate your own data and research interests.