AI is up to us to shape, to achieve good.  We have the power to reshape and redefine the relationship with our physical and social-affective environment through technology.  How can we create intelligent technology to help boost human resilience, so that difficult external conditions are less likely to provoke poor mental health or depression?  How can smart technology enhance the understanding and strengthening of good mental health?

FORM CLOSED (Please fill out this sign up form, if you're interested in taking the course. )

Room & Time:

• Most classes will meet interactively on Zoom.  

• We plan to hold up to four class meetings in-person,  subject to several safety accommodations we are making.  We are preparing a large interior (high air-volume) space where we can meet, physically distant, and we will provide FDA-cleared masks for extra safety, which are also transparent for seeing facial expressions so we can see each other smile (or smirk).  

• Enrolled students should get details and links from the Canvas website 

• Wednesdays,  10am-noon,   February 17 - May 19, 2021

Credits:

By default this is a graduate-level 9 hour course, with 2 hours/week in class and 7 hours/week of homework/project work.  There is no final exam.  By special request, we are probably allowed to increase the credit hours to 12 by adding additional weekly research article readings or project work.  

Contact:

      To reach the course staff please email: MAS.S61 at media dot mit dot edu

Synopsis:

The World Health Organization has identified depression as on track to become the #1 disease burden by 2030, causing more deaths and years lived with disability than cancer, stroke, accidents, and war. Depression is already globally the largest cause of disability. Among healthy college populations, approximately 22% of undergraduates in a given year will have PHQ-9 scores above 15, indicating severe depression or moderately severe depression. Many other students suffer from moderate or mild depression. Could we change this situation? There is evidence that changing behaviors and aspects of the environment can contribute to changes in mood and mental health; however, today's students are largely unaware of how their individual behaviors and environment could fuel depression, or promote good mental health. 

This seminar and project-based course will overview evidence-based behaviors that can influence changes in mood, sleep, social interaction, and examine factors that influence mental health.  The project work will team up pairs or triples of students to focus on constructing a solution that addresses "How can AI-enabled technology help *promote* good mental health?" Weekly work will consist of readings and assignments: learning about evidence-based practices associated with "happiness" (although it's not good to be happy all the time) and learning together how the power of AI can be shaped to facilitate better health outcomes than what we see today.  

Reading List:

See Assignments menu.