Decoding AI Power: Ethics, Infrastructure & Governance

Catalog description

As AI systems approach and surpass human-level capabilities on many tasks, how do we ensure that this new industrial revolution benefits humanity while respecting diverse human values and rights? This course tackles today's most urgent socio-technical question. Students examine pressing ethical dilemmas, including the massive energy consumption of AI training, hidden labor costs, and the trade-off between transparency and competitive advantage. Fieldwork activities and guest speakers from MGX (funding global AI infrastructure), the global network of AI Safety (or Security) Institutes, and MBZUAI's K2-65B team (pioneering open AI development) help students move beyond theory to practice. We’ll witness ethics and safety reviews, interview engineers about daily trade-offs, learn to map stakeholder conflicts, and evaluate current governance frameworks. The course leverages Abu Dhabi's unique position, where rapid AI investment meets diverse cultural values, offering unmatched insight into global AI development tensions. No technical prerequisites required. Suitable for students from all disciplines interested in fundamentally reshaping their understanding of AI's societal impact. This course is taught by Alberto Chierici. This course will be offered in January-Term 2026 in Abu Dhabi.