CS 21si: AI for Social Good

Course Description

Students will learn about and apply cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to real-world social good spaces (such as healthcare, government, and environmental conservation). The class will balance high-level machine learning techniques– from the fields of deep learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and reinforcement learning– with real world case studies, inviting students to think critically about technical and ethical issues in the development and deployment of AI.

Units: 2, C/NC

Class Time: 04/02/2025 - 06/04/2025, Wed 4:30 PM - 6:20 PM

Faculty Sponsor: Chris Piech
Course Coordinators: William Li, Hannah Cha
Email: willzli@stanford.edu and hcha417@stanford.edu

Apply by March 4th!

Syllabus: Here

Intro to Machine Learning

Week 1: Machine Learning and AI Ethics, HW 1 released

Week 2: Invited Talk from Himanshu Gupta, ClimateAI

Topics in Deep Learning

Week 3: Deep Learning and HCI, HW 1 due, HW 2 released

Week 4: Natural Language Processing

Week 5: Computer Vision, HW 2 due, HW 3 released

AI in Practice

Week 6: Invited Talk from Tarjimly

Week 7: Invited Talk from Professor Margaret Hagan, Stanford Legal Design Lab, HW 3 due

Week 8: Invited Talk from Professor Chris Piech, The Piech Lab

Further Exploration

Week 9: Reinforcement Learning & Wrap-Up, Final Presentation Due

Week 10: Invited Talk from Professor Monroe Kennedy III, Stanford Assistive Robotics and Manipulation Laboratory