Sociotechnical AI Education Course Design for CS Majors and Non-Majors

As generative AI increasingly integrates into society and education, the number of institutions implementing AI usage policies and offering introductory AI courses is rising. These introductory AI courses mustn't replicate the "gateway/weed-out" phenomenon observed in introductory computer science courses like CS1 and CS2. Literature in computer science education suggests that interventions such as summer camps, bridge courses, and socio-technical courses have improved the sense of belonging and retention among students from underrepresented groups, thereby broadening participation in computer science. Building on previous work to create a socio-technical curriculum for all ages and education levels, this paper presents a course for teaching introductory AI concepts that adopts a socio-technical approach, complete with weekly activities and content designed for broad access. The course has been taught as a 1-credit general education course, primarily for freshmen and first-year students from various majors, and a 3-credit course for CS majors at all levels.This paper provides a curriculum and resources to teach a socio-technical introductory AI course. This approach is important because it not only democratizes AI education across diverse student backgrounds but also equips all students with the critical socio-technical multidisciplinary perspective necessary to navigate and shape the future ethical landscape of AI technology.