AI Foundations for Business and Society introduces students to the fundamental concepts of artificial intelligence and its growing influence on businesses, organisations and society. The course explores how AI systems learn, make predictions and support decision-making, while comparing machine intelligence with human cognition and examining issues such as cognitive bias, reliability and the limitations of AI-generated outputs.
The course takes a practical and applied approach. Students will work with generative AI tools, AI agents and workflow-automation platforms to explore real business and societal use cases. Through online quizzes, classroom activities, case discussions and an applied group project, students will identify a real-world problem and develop a practical AI-enabled solution or prototype. Particular attention will be given to responsible AI adoption, including privacy, bias, transparency, accountability and the importance of human oversight.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
- Explain the main concepts and capabilities of modern AI in accessible language.
- Compare human and machine learning, reasoning and decision-making.
- Use generative AI tools effectively and critically evaluate their outputs.
- Identify suitable AI applications for business, organisational and societal challenges.
- Design and test a simple AI-enabled prototype, agent or automated workflow.
- Assess AI-related risks, including bias, privacy, reliability and accountability.
- Develop an evidence-based case for the responsible adoption of AI.
- Teacher: Milad Armani Armani