Course Overview
This class focuses on understanding the psychological dimensions of human-AI interaction and translating these insights into the design of AI systems that foster human flourishing. Specifically, it goes beyond the conventional emphasis on designing AI to enhance human productivity to instead address more profound aspirations, such as how AI may support wisdom, wonder, and well-being. The class will explore the effects of design decisions for AI interaction on human motivation, engagement, critical thinking, self-reflection, self-confidence, biases, social connections and mental health. It will address both timely and enduring themes within Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) by engaging with the emergence of pervasive AI and questioning how it relates to the ageless pursuit of human flourishing.
Course Expectations
1. Participation in class discussions (30% of grade)
2. Weekly design exercises (30% of grade)
Each week, students create speculative designs that explore alternative futures for human-AI interaction, drawing on that week’s class theme. These short exercises—presented as sketches, scenarios, or design fictions—translate theory into tangible possibilities and are shared through a brief in-class presentation. Participation in the weekly exercises and discussions will be part of the grade. (Please see "Schedule Page" for more details)
3. Final project (40% of grade)
At the course midpoint, student teams (groups of 2-3 people) submit a proposal for an AI system or intervention that addresses a specific dimension of human flourishing. The proposal must articulate a clear theory grounding the design in empirical research on human psychology and well-being. Students identify their target aspect of flourishing, present a unique concept and supporting evidence for their approach, offer a detailed proposal of work, and outline methods for evaluating the approach. The proposal includes ethical considerations and potential risks.
The same teams further develop their midterm proposals into refined, completed research projects with evidence of user research, prototyping, and/or empirical evaluation. Final presentations (oral + paper) must demonstrate how the design addresses psychological dimensions of human-AI interaction through specific design decisions and features. Students present their measurement framework for assessing impact on human flourishing. Projects are evaluated on theoretical grounding, design innovation, empirical rigor, and clarity of communication.