This class is online only.
Catalog Description
Examines computer science, information science, and data science as distinct ways of knowing. Traces their shared history, and asks how generative AI forces each to rebuild.
Instructor Description
Universities are merging computer science, information science, and data science into schools of computing. This course argues that the merger joins three distinct ways of knowing, each with its own lineage, founding myths, and blind spots. We trace their history from Mesopotamian archives through the postwar Information Shock that forged all three, then examine how they built the internet, social media, and AI without agreeing on what those systems were for. Generative AI is the next shock: a machine that co-authors exchanges with people rather than producing documents. Students work with AI all semester, developing a capstone project in public through weekly vlogs and peer reactions.
Prerequisites
Graduate standing.
Restrictions
Enrollment in Information Studies (INF) courses is restricted to graduate students in the School of Information through registration periods 1 and 2, with outside students only being accepted during period 3.
Notes
Class will be conducted in an asynchronous online format.