CAPP review:

Summary of CAPP review of “Undergraduate Minor Proposal: AI in Society”
Tom Pepinsky (chair)

October 25, 2026

Overview
CAPP was asked to review the proposed undergraduate minor in AI and Society.

Summary of CAPP Review
Several CAPP members expressed reservations about the minor. These concerns were about three issues: the non-technical nature of the proposed minor, its relationship with the humanities, and assessment. Concerns about the non-technical nature of the proposed minor were not widely expressed. The discussion concluded that the minor was designed to be not technical. Another CAPP member expressed disappointment that there were “no representatives from units in the Arts, Humanities, or Languages on the proposed committee,” continuing that “the work of the Arts and Humanities are being extensively (and largely involuntarily) mined for ‘data,’ and yet those who produce this work do not have a seat at the table to discuss the relationship between AI and the human.” In response, another CAPP member noted participation from STS and Philosophy on the cross-college planning committee, and that elective courses included faculty who hold PhDs and teach in the fields of Literature, Comparative Literature, Sociology, and Management. The committee noted that there are no humanists yet appointed to the planning committee, even though there was a stated intention in the proposal to bring in faculty from the humanities and the social sciences.

The last concern was about assessment, with one CAPP member asking “how will the learning outcomes be assessed/assured?” given that there are many different potential pathways through the major. This raises the issue of how to ensure that students do “explore human-centered AI from an ethical, legal, and societal perspective” in such a way that “equips [them] with the necessary skills to navigate and impact AI-related fields effectively”? Finally, a related question was raised about what “AI-related fields” are if this a non-technical minor.

Proposal

1.   Name and Description of the Minor

Name: AI in Society

The AI in Society minor is designed to provide students with an understanding of AI’s impacts on society as well as approaches for designing AI systems that prioritize human needs, values, and capabilities. While Cornell’s existing AI minor addresses the algorithmic and technical aspects of AI, the AI in Society minor focuses on the interaction between AI technologies and societal structures, encompassing ethical, legal, cultural, and policy considerations. The minor targets students across all disciplines and presumes no computing or math prerequisites.

The minor will be administered by Bowers CIS and overseen by a cross-college AI Minors Steering Committee. This committee currently oversees the existing AI minor and has been expanded to include additional faculty in the social sciences and humanities.¹

2.   Confirmation of approval through the curricular approval process of all participating (college and/or department) units.

The minor was developed by a cross-college committee formed by Bowers CIS dean (at the time) Kavita Bala. Its members were: Claire Cardie (Bowers, CS and IS), Haym Hirsh (Bowers, CS), Sarah Kreps (Brooks, Government), Willow Starr (A&S, Philosophy), Qian Yang (Bowers, IS), Malte Ziewitz (STS, A&S). We sought feedback and obtained approvals from Thorsten Joachims (as Bowers dean), new Bowers dean Sorin Lerner, the Bowers academic leadership team (associate deans and department chairs), and the Steering Committee for the existing (technical) AI minor

¹Current members: Claire Cardie (chair) (Bowers, CS and IS), Thorsten Joachims (Bowers, CS and IS), David Shmoys (Engineering, ORIE), Kilian Weinberger (Bowers, CS), Qian Yang (Bowers, IS). New members: Maria Fitzpatrick (Brooks, Economics) will join as co-chair, Sarah Giroux (CALS), [more to be added]…

3.   Reasons for Creation

The AI in Society minor acknowledges the rapid integration of AI into daily life and its broad societal implications. Creation of an AI in Society minor was recommended in the final report (July 2022) of the Cornell Committee on AI Undergraduate Education in Artificial Intelligence, a cross-college committee brought together to develop the initial educational offerings in AI for undergraduates at Cornell. In addition to the creation of the existing technical minor in AI (approved in 2023), the committee envisioned a second minor that would focus on the mechanisms by which AI integrates with and influences societal structures. Thus, the proposed AI in Society minor provides a path for students to explore human-centered AI from an ethical, legal, and societal perspective and equips students with the necessary skills to navigate and impact AI-related fields effectively.

4.   Overview of the Minor

a. Objectives or Goals

The goal of the minor is to enable students to critically engage with AI technologies and policies. The minor will teach the basic technical and operational aspects of human-AI system design with a focus on teaching students how to analyze the ethical, legal, and policy dimensions of AI as well as to critically assess AI applications within societal contexts.

b.   Course and Credit Requirements

The minor will consist of six courses (18-24 credits). It reflects the structure of the technical AI minor and is organized around courses on (1) the technical underpinnings of AI (one course), (2) human-AI interaction design (one course), and (3) AI ethics, governance, policy and society (four courses).

c.   Foundational Course Requirements

Unless otherwise indicated, listed courses have no prerequisites.

Technical Foundations of AI (choose one course):

• CS 1700 Understanding AI
• INFO 1720 Introduction to Applied AI [This is currently being run as a “special topics” AI for All course but will move to the referenced number/title in AY26-27]
• PHIL 2621 Minds and Machines

*Students who have completed a technical course on AI or Machine Learning (e.g. any of the Foundations of AI: Machine Learning or Reasoning classes in the AI minor) will not be allowed to enroll in CS 1700 or INFO 1720 and should instead take PHIL 2621 or complete five (instead of four) classes from the Ethics, Governance, Policy and Society area below.

Human-AI Interaction (choose one course):

• INFO 4240 / STS 4240 Designing Technology for Social Impact
• INFO 4470 Human-AI Interaction Design [This is currently being run as a “special topics” course but will move to the referenced number/title in AY26-27]

Ethics, Governance, Policy and Society (choose four courses):

• COMM 3075 Writing With and About AI
• COMM 3200 Technology, Behavior and Society
• ENGRG 3605 / STS 3605 / PHIL 2473 Ethics of Computing and Artificial Intelligence Technologies
•     Enrollment limited to: sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
• ILRGL 4066 / AMST 4066 Technological Change at Work INFO 1170 AI in Organizations
• INFO 1210 Political Economy of Technology
• INFO 1260 Choices and Consequences in Computing INFO 3350 Text Mining History and Literature
•      Prerequisites: INFO 2950
• INFO 4240 / STS 4240 Designing Technology for Social Impact
• INFO 4260 / STS 4260 Computing On Earth: Planetary Dimensions and Consequences of Computing
•      Prerequisites: INFO 1200 or INFO 1260 or CS 1340 INFO 4940 (section) Law, Policy, and Politics of AI
• PUBPOL 3520 Economic and Policy Implications of Artificial Intelligence Prerequisites: PUBPOL 3100, MATH 1110
• PUBPOL/INFO 4210 Artificial Intelligence: Law, Ethics, and Politics

d.  Learning Outcomes

The primary learning outcomes for the minor are for students to:

Explain key technical concepts in AI; and evaluate their use in AI systems and applications.

Understand and appraise the role of humans in AI system development and deployment.

Critically analyze policies and governance involving AI.

Engage in informed discussions on AI ethics and the cultural and societal implications of AI.

e.   Eligibility Requirements

The minor is designed to attract students from all disciplines that are interested in AI’s societal influence and effects. The minor is open to all undergraduates without specific prerequisites. In particular, the minor has no prerequisites in math or computer science.

f.  Student Advising

Bowers CIS Student Services will be responsible for professional advising. The advising load required by faculty is expected to be minimal and will be shared across members of the AI Minors Steering Committee.

g.   Expected Enrollment and Capacity

Given the current interest in AI and its societal impact, enrollment could be substantial. We are prepared to accommodate approximately ~75 students per year initially, with capacity evaluations each semester to ensure course availability. The potential bottlenecks are the Technical Foundations of AI and Human-AI Interaction Design required classes. Each class that fulfills these requirements is expected to accommodate class sizes of at least 75, and potentially scale to much larger than that. Departments from across the university are encouraged to propose additional classes in these areas.

5.   Anticipated Timeline

The planned start date for the AI in Society minor is Fall 2026. All classes in the proposed minor are already offered.

6.     Relations to any majors within the offering college(s)

Relation to Information Science major. Within Bowers, the AI in Society minor is related only to the Information Science (IS) major. One of the IS major’s five core courses can be satisfied by INFO 1260 Choices and Consequences in Computing, which is an elective for the AI in Society minor. Depending on a student’s choice of concentration within the IS major, there could be overlaps in the INFO and PUBPOL course choices with the AI in Society minor.

Relation to the AI Minor   The AI in Society minor shares a number of courses with the existing AI minor, but the latter focuses on the algorithms and system engineering aspects of AI while the proposed AI in Society focuses on the interaction between AI technologies and societal structures.

The technical course requirement(s) for each minor are completely distinct by design. AI in Society’s options for its single technical foundations class have no math or computer science prerequisites while the AI minor requires a machine learning class and a class on AI reasoning, both of which have multiple math and computer science prerequisites.

The minors share the Human-AI Interaction requirement (one class).

Many of the AI in Society minor’s classes in the Ethics, Governance, Policy and Society area are available as electives in the AI minor.

7. Analysis of any overlaps or duplication in the curriculum of the minor with any existing majors or minors in another college.

   (A list of undergraduate majors and minors can be found at: https://www.cornell.edu/academics/fields.cfm .)

Overlaps with the Brooks’ Public Policy major exist via shared courses in the AI ethics/law/policy area. The same is true for the CALS’ Communication major.

Relation to other majors. The AI in Society minor complements majors in the social sciences and humanities by providing specialized training in AI and its relevance to society, but does not overlap with them in any significant way.

8.     Analysis of whether course requirements and/or electives for the minor would also satisfy course requirements and/or electives for any majors within the offering college(s). If there is such duplication, explain how students will be limited from satisfying both the major and minor requirements through identical or substantially duplicative course enrollment.

To handle all of the overlaps described above (#6 and #7), the AI in Society minor will prescribe the following: no more than two courses used toward the AI in Society minor will be permitted to be double-counted toward a student’s major requirements.

Students with a deep interest in both the technical and societal aspects of AI might be inclined to complete both the AI in Society and the AI minor. We think that this should be allowed. However, because the two programs share many courses, we will stipulate that students may count at most two classes toward both minors simultaneously.

9.     Assessment of any financial implications for the departments/colleges involved in the minor and how the costs will be met.

Bowers is taking fiscal responsibility for providing administrative and professional advising support. All of the courses in the minor exist; the departments that offer them regard AI as integral to their mission, ensuring the program is sustainable.

10.   Confirmation that all relevant stakeholders have been consulted and are able to meet expectations for teaching needs, any financial contributions, or any staffing needs. For example, as relevant, confirmation that any instructors from other units who will teach courses upon which the minor relies have been apprised of expectations and are available to fulfill these expectations, and that all departments involved will grant their instructors credit for teaching courses within the minor even if such courses do not satisfy requirements for the major affiliated with the department.

For teaching purposes, primary stakeholders include the departments or colleges offering the classes for the minor – Brooks, Communication, Computer Science, Information Science, ILR, Philosophy, Science and Technology Studies. Those consulted include:

Sorin Lerner (Dean, Bowers) Colleen Barry (Dean, Brooks)
Maria Fitzpatrick (Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Brooks)
Trystan Goetz (instructor for ENGRG 3605; Director of the Sue G. and Harry E. Bovay Program in the History and Ethics of Professional Engineering, Senior Lecturer in the Ethics of Engineering) Peter Loewen (Dean, Arts & Sciences) David Mimno (Chair, Information Science)
Michelle Smith (Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, Arts & Sciences) Ben Houlton (Dean, CALS)
Sarah Giroux (Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Strategic Programs) STS Suman Seth (chair) + Malte Ziewitz (STS)
Philosophy Shaun Nicols (chair) + Willow Starr (Philosophy)
Kate Griffith (Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Diversity, and Faculty Development, ILR)
Lee Humphries (Chair, Communication) + Natalie Bazarova (Communication) Thorsten Joachims (Vice Provost for Artificial Intelligence Strategy)
Steve Jackson (Vice Provost for Academic Innovation)

11.  Identification of the process for ongoing academic program reviews, whether through customary departmental reviews or another process.

To ensure the minor remains current and responsive to educational and industry trends and to changes in the academic offerings at Cornell, the AI Minors Steering Committee will review the AI in Society minor on a yearly basis for the first five years of its offering and then every five years thereafter.

12.   Discussion of any concerns pertaining to sustainability of the minor.

We are not aware of any concerns regarding sustainability. The minor is expected to thrive with the support of existing faculty and resources.

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