Autumn 2025

IMT 598 A: Generative AI Ethics

• Instructor: Belén Saldias Fuentes
• 4 credits; standard grading 

This special topic course will delve into the opportunities and challenges associated with generative AI systems. Generative AI systems have been rapidly proliferating and are widely used by laypeople, students, researchers, and developers. While they offer practical human-AI interaction settings, their impact on society remains poorly understood. We will explore how to responsibly use, develop, and deploy generative AI systems while also raising awareness about the numerous open questions that are critically important to the sciences and society.

IMT 598 B: Foundations of Entrepreneurship

• Instructor: Mike Teodorescu
• 4 credits; standard grading 

This course will create a welcoming environment for students of all degrees to learn about the fundamentals of starting a new business, venture capital, developing intellectual property, and writing a business plan. The theoretical foundations will draw from the management, economics of innovation, and entrepreneurial finance literature. The course will rapidly develop skills needed to think about building a business, such as defining a problem area, finding a market, feasibility analysis of proof of concept, IP considerations, and finally how to pitch for funding. The course will conclude with group projects where students develop a business idea proposal and will pitch it to a panel of judges for feedback, as in traditional startup accelerators. External judges such as angels, business faculty, or venture capitalists will be invited for the event by the instructor to provide diverse viewpoints and feedback for the business plan proposals.

IMT 598 C: Digital Transformation in the Age of AI

• Instructor: Fawad Khan
• 3 credits; standard grading 

This course explores the fundamentals of Digital Transformation and the emerging technologies driving change across industries. Students will examine how organizations are leveraging digital strategies to enhance competitiveness, operational efficiency, and customer value.

Topics include the core pillars of digital transformation and an in-depth look at enabling technologies such as Cloud Computing, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The course also covers advanced AI concepts, including Large Language Models (LLMs), Generative AI, and AI agents. Emphasis will be placed on how these technologies are reshaping the IT landscape and their implications for the future of work and innovation.

IMT 598 D and G: Reading Seminar in Information Leadership

• Instructor: TBA
• 3 credits; standard grading 

This course is going to introduce the concept of Digital Transformation and Cloud's key emerging technologies and how they are forcing companies to review and formulate a digital strategy which affects the bottom line of any company. We will review the key digital transformation strategy pillars and use Cloud's key emerging technologies, including Cognitive Computing, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and IoT to build solutions and applications to help the organizations along this digital journey.

IMT 598 E: Professional Skills in Information Management

• Instructor: TBA
• 2 credits; standard grading 

The Professional Skills in Information Management Seminar gives students an opportunity to develop skills in an essential topic of information management. Examples include: How to plan, run, and analyze data from a SWOT workshop; How to plan, conduct, and analyze data from a set of interviews; How to conduct a stakeholder analysis; How to employ creative methods for strategic envisioning.

IMT 598 H: Work in the Information Age

• Instructor: Heather Whiteman
• 4 credits; standard grading
• Offered jointly with INFO 498 E

Focuses on the impact of the Information Age on the modern workplace. Explores the historical context, examines the technologies that have shaped it, and analyzes the economic and social implications of these developments. Covers practical applications of information technology in various work environments, including enterprises, work processes, and the roles of workers. Students will develop critical thinking skills to evaluate the benefits/drawbacks of different technologies such as automation, AI, big data, cloud computing, and biometrics. Will address ethical and social challenges and adaptation of the evolving workplace into a potential fourth revolution.

INFO 198 A: Exploring Informatics: AI Fundamentals

• Instructor: Ben Lee
• 4 credits; standard grading

This course will introduce the fundamentals of AI. Throughout the quarter, we will cover basics ranging from definitions to the central components of modern AI systems: models, data, tasks, and applications. Through course lectures, activities, assignments, and conversations with expert AI researchers and practitioners across a range of application areas, students will also develop exposure to not only large language models, foundation models, and emerging AI methods but also other facets of AI: AI policy, responsible AI, ML operations, and interdisciplinary approaches. By the end of the course, students should be able to actively participate in discussions surrounding AI.

This course is open to all undergraduates with an interest in learning more about AI and a willingness to explore an interdisciplinary approach. No coding background is necessary, and there are no expectations of prior knowledge of AI.

INFO 415 A: Emerging Topics in Information Assurance and Cybersecurity - Cyber Resilience 

• Instructor: Lindah Kotut
• 4 credits; standard grading
• Writing Credit

This course is geared toward covering topics in cybersecurity that are not otherwise included in the information assurance and cybersecurity (IAC) curriculum. The course will center around the theme of Cyber Resilience and the study of risk assessment tools and technologies that are typically used to support Red and Blue teams alongside associated policy guidelines. Students will analyze the influence of ransomware, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies on the cybersecurity landscape. Discussions will encompass the case study examination of the resulting implications on people (individual users, groups, and countries), devices (from the internet of things to critical infrastructure), and domains (from healthcare to automotive security).

INFO 492 B: Intensive Capstone - Agentic Cybersecurity with AI and Large Language Models

• Instructor: Frank Martinez
• 8 credits; standard grading 

Students will research AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) to generate defensive and offensive cybersecurity attack patterns for finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and energy industries. Students will design and deploy AI Agents to facilitate each industry's attack vectors from the defensive or offensive perspective. Students will engage with stakeholders in each industry to inform their attack strategies. Recommended preparation: familiarity and experience building with popular AI platforms and frontier LLMs from OpenAI, Anthropic, Hugging Face, or Ollama; comfortable working in LLM based code editors such as Cursor or Windsurf.

INFO 494 A: Research Studio - Experiments and Analysis of Social Media Algorithms

• Instructor: Martin Saveski
• 2 credits; credit/no-credit

This research studio will provide space for undergraduate and graduate students to come together to conduct (randomized) experiments and analyses related to core social media algorithms, such as feed ranking, friend recommendations, and content moderation. The goal of the research studio is to introduce students to the key tools for experimenting and analyzing these algorithms and guiding them through well-defined research activities. Students will be (i) provided data to replicate and extend existing studies, (ii) introduced to a variety of existing tools for running social media experiments (sock puppets, chrome extensions, platform clones, etc.), and (iii) encouraged to design their own studies motivated by their research interests (e.g., around polarization, well-being, agency/autonomy/fairness).

INFO 494 A: Research Studio - Justice-Centered Programming Languages

• Instructor: Amy J. Ko
• 2 credits; credit/no credit grading

This recurring, quarterly research studio will engage you as a volunteer open source contributor that helps design, build, and maintain Wordplay, creative coding research platform for creating accessible, interactive typographic media. Our research goals are to create a global platform for creative expression with language that celebrates every individual's culture, identity, and values, while also enabling youth to learn about the power and limits of data and algorithms. Your contributions can include designing and redesigning the language and platform, implementing new user interface features, improving correctness and reliability of current features, localizing to one or more of the world's languages, writing automated tests, creating Wordplay examples, verifying accessibility, and teaching your peers. As a studio course, there will be no lectures, only community-based making, collaboration, coordination, and communication. Can be taken multiple times, and volunteer work can continue beyond the quarter.

INFO 498 A: Information, Technology and Power

• Instructor: Clarita Lefthand-Begay
• 4 credits; standard grading 

INFO 498 B: Data, AI, and the Public Sector

• Instructor: TBD
• 4 credits; standard grading 

The class will cover a survey of topics related to public sector data and AI systems policy, management, and use, combining theoretical concepts with practical skills development. In addition, this class will use the lens of information ethics and deconstructing power systems to interrogate responsible public sector technology. Students can expect to leave class being able to explain federal/state data and AI policy, critique federal/state data and AI systems, use government data tools to perform common assessments necessary for public projects, and communicate a nuanced perspective on using technology for the public good.

INFO 498 C: Game Design for Social Good 

• Instructor: Andy Cargile
• 5 credits; standard grading 

The course will start with several weeks of game design basics, including mechanics, dynamics, “fun”, visual and UX design for games, narrative, user research for games, and an overview of game genres. We’ll then cover various aspects of games for social good, including game-based learning, social awareness games, social action games, and social engagement games in a variety of categories. We will also cover topics such as toxicity in multiplayer games, representation, and more. Assignments will focus on team creation more than theory and we will have a final team project where you create a game demo or prototype. 

INFO 498 D: Entrepreneurship Fundamentals for Devs, Designers, and PMs

• Instructor: Jeremy Zaretzky
• 4 credits; Standard grading

Designed for INFO majors who are interested in startups and entrepreneurship, this course will cover how new companies are founded, managed, funded, and grown. Through readings, guest speakers, activities, and case studies, students will learn what life is like as a startup founder and how to navigate the inevitable challenges that arise, as well as the mechanics of raising money for a startup through both equity and non-dilutive funding options. While the course material is applicable to many different types of startups, there will be a particular emphasis on social impact startups, SaaS companies, and online marketplaces. Developers, designers, and product managers who are thinking about launching a startup at some point in their career, as well as those interested in joining an early-stage startup after graduation, are encouraged to enroll in the course.

INFO 498 E: Work in the Information Age

• Instructor: Heather Whiteman
• 4 credits; standard grading
• Offered jointly with IMT 598 H

Focuses on the impact of the Information Age on the modern workplace. Explores the historical context, examines the technologies that have shaped it, and analyzes the economic and social implications of these developments. Covers practical applications of information technology in various work environments, including enterprises, work processes, and the roles of workers. Students will develop critical thinking skills to evaluate the benefits/drawbacks of different technologies such as automation, AI, big data, cloud computing, and biometrics. Will address ethical and social challenges and adaptation of the evolving workplace into a potential fourth revolution.

INFO 498 F: No-Code Tools in a Changing Tech Landscape

• Instructor: Elizabeth Geri
• 4 credits; Standard grading

Software development is no longer just for engineers. No-code tools have transformed how people build and automate solutions, making technology more accessible and adaptable. This course explores the no-code ecosystem with a focus on data, UI, and workflows, equipping students with frameworks to evaluate and integrate tools as they evolve. Students will develop a rigorous approach to assessing no-code solutions, distinguishing hype from function, and considering security, ethics, and long-term sustainability in their decision-making. To support hands-on projects, we’ll take a deeper dive into a handful of tools, giving students practical experience while reinforcing critical analysis. Through real-world application and thoughtful analysis, this course prepares students to engage with no-code as an evolving part of the tech landscape—understanding not just how to use these tools, but when and why to apply them.

LIS 598 A: Archival Arrangement, Description, and Metadata

• Instructor: Joseph T. Tennis
• 3 credits; standard grading

This course will look specifically at the research and standard practice of describing archival records for catalogues and finding aids.  It will address the differences between archival description and descriptive work done in LIS, introduce students to descriptive standards and best practices, and the basic technological context of contemporary description.

Summer 2025

IMT 589 A/B: Reading Seminar 

• Instructor: David G. Hendry
• 2 credits; Credit/no-credit grading

Herbert Simon won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1979 for pioneering research into decision-making. The Nobel Prize Committee wrote: “In his epoch-making book, Administrative Behavior (1947), and in a number of subsequent works, he described the company as an adaptive system of physical, personal and social components that are held together by a network of intercommunications and by the willingness of its members to cooperate and to strive towards a common goal” (Nobel Prize Outreach. [2025, April 23]. Nobel Prize Press Release 1978). In this reading seminar we will study and discuss this seminal book and Simon’s insights into how organizations work and how they can be designed to work well.

Simon, H. A. (1997). Administrative Behavior (4th edition). New York: Free Press. [978-0684835822] [About $16.00 at the usual places] [NOTE: PLEASE GET THE 4th EDITION.]

For more about the MSIM Reading Seminar and Community Books: https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1740596

INFO 198 A: Exploring Informatics: AI Fundamentals

• Instructor: Ben Lee
• 4 credits; standard grading 

This course will introduce the fundamentals of AI. Throughout the quarter, we will cover basics ranging from definitions to the central components of modern AI systems: models, data, tasks, and applications. Through course lectures, activities, assignments, and conversations with expert AI researchers and practitioners across a range of application areas, students will also develop exposure to not only large language models, foundation models, and emerging AI methods but also other facets of AI: AI policy, responsible AI, ML operations, and interdisciplinary approaches. By the end of the course, students should be able to actively participate in discussions surrounding AI.

This course is open to all undergraduates with an interest in learning more about AI and a willingness to explore an interdisciplinary approach. No coding background is necessary, and there are no expectations of prior knowledge of AI.

INFO 498 A: Entrepreneurship Fundamentals for Devs, Designers, and PMs

• Instructor: Jeremy Zaretzky
• 4 credits; Standard grading

Designed for INFO majors who are interested in startups and entrepreneurship, this course will cover how new companies are founded, managed, funded, and grown. Through readings, guest speakers, activities, and case studies, students will learn what life is like as a startup founder and how to navigate the inevitable challenges that arise, as well as the mechanics of raising money for a startup through both equity and non-dilutive funding options. While the course material is applicable to many different types of startups, there will be a particular emphasis on social impact startups, SaaS companies, and online marketplaces. Developers, designers, and product managers who are thinking about launching a startup at some point in their career, as well as those interested in joining an early-stage startup after graduation, are encouraged to enroll in the course.

INFO 498 B: Designing for an Aging World

• Instructor: William Jones
• 3 credits; Standard grading

This course addresses the challenges and opportunities arising from the global increase in the population aged 65 or older. As the traditional age pyramid flattens, research on successful aging brings greater focus to the process of aging (faced by all adults) vs. the state of being "old." Key findings include the gradual decline in measures of fluid intelligence such as working memory capacity starting at age 20, while crystalized intelligence improves throughout adulthood. Innovations in user interface, search technologies, and generative AI, along with virtual and extended reality training, promise to offset age-related declines and enhance cognitive resilience. The course considers relevant tools, training, techniques, and technologies and the career opportunities these create. Students will engage in hands-on activities, including team projects and individual presentations, to design comprehensive solutions for thriving in time, culminating in presentations judged by a panel of experts.

Spring 2025

IMT 589 A: Cloud Computing and AI: Tools, Services, and Applications

• Instructor: Fawad Khan
• 4 credits; Standard grading

This course introduces the concept of Cloud Computing with a primary focus on how it is revolutionizing the development and deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions. Explore the transition from on-premises systems to cloud-based infrastructures, emphasizing AI-driven applications and services. Learn about Cloud Service models, including SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS, with a focus on their role in supporting AI development. Delve into the tools, frameworks, and infrastructure provided by leading cloud providers for building, training, and deploying machine learning and AI models efficiently. Understand how to evaluate cloud services for AI applications based on costs, security, compliance, fault tolerance, and disaster recovery. Gain insights into the most consumed cloud services for deploying and maintaining virtual machine networks and AI-enabled solutions.

Discover how to leverage pre-built APIs and services from major providers, such as OpenAI, to develop intelligent applications utilizing state-of-the-art large language models (LLMs). These include APIs for speech, vision, language understanding, search, knowledge extraction, and translation, enabling rapid development without extensive training or deployment overhead.

By the end of the course, you will have a comprehensive understanding of how to integrate AI and cloud computing technologies to create scalable, intelligent, and innovative solutions that drive business transformation.

IMT 589 D & G: Design Methods for Interactive Systems 

• Instructor: Nicholas Logler
• 4 credits; Standard grading
• Online synchronous

This course examines design methods for identifying and describing user needs, specifying and prototyping new systems, and evaluating the usability of systems. Through a mix of design studios, in-class activities, and projects, students will begin to cultivate a design practice by applying design methodologies such as contextual design, human-centered design, prototyping, and more to complex problems. By the end of the course, students will have started to develop a design sensibility which they can apply to a range of challenges, as well as a basic understanding of the core concepts and principles which contemporary design methods are built upon.     

IMT 589 I: Reading Seminar 

• Instructor: David G. Hendry
• 2 credits; Credit/no-credit grading

Alan Blackwell makes the case that to benefit from artificial intelligence we need to develop better tools, including programming languages. In this reading seminar, we'll read Moral Codes slowly and explore how tools augment human intellect and expand human creativity. And, we'll gain perspective on the possibilities for artificial intelligence.

Blackwell, A. (2024). Moral Codes: Designing Alternatives to AI. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. [ISBN-13: 978-0-262-54871-7] [About $35.00 at the usual places | UW Library] 

For more on the MSIM Reading Seminar and Community Books, see: https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1740596

IMT 589 J: Reading Seminar 

• Instructor: David G. Hendry
• 2 credits; Credit/no-credit grading
• Online synchronous

Alan Blackwell makes the case that to benefit from artificial intelligence we need to develop better tools, including programming languages. In this reading seminar, we'll read Moral Codes slowly and explore how tools augment human intellect and expand human creativity. And, we'll gain perspective on the possibilities for artificial intelligence.

Blackwell, A. (2024). Moral Codes: Designing Alternatives to AI. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. [ISBN-13: 978-0-262-54871-7] [About $35.00 at the usual places | UW Library] 

For more on the MSIM Reading Seminar and Community Books, see: https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1740596

IMT 589 K: Responsible AI

• Instructor: Mike Teodorescu
• 3 credits; Standard grading
• Recommended preparation: IMT 572 or any 500 series data science course.

Take a course on Responsible AI from one of the pioneering researchers in Information Systems on machine learning fairness! The Responsible AI course is designed for managers, software engineers, consultants, and policy makers interested in the latest regulations, research, methods and standards regarding building responsible AI systems. The Responsible AI course will cover policy documents, such as the US and EU regulations on AI, the concepts of fairness criteria from computer science, testing algorithms for fairness, visualization techniques relevant to fairness such as SHAP and LIME, case studies, and reading and discussing some of the latest research in the space. The hands-on applications during the course will include an R component, similar to IMT 572 and other courses. If you do not have R or Python experience, we will have a refresher as an optional session. 

Deliverables: case study discussions, class reading and discussion, and data analysis and software exercises. There will be no final exam. Opportunity will be given to students with different professional interests to choose the topics of the homework assignments that better suit their interests, while not neglecting the core elements of the discipline.

IMT 589 L & M: Advanced Leadership Seminar 

• Instructor: Sean McGann
• 3 credits; Credit/No-credit grading
• Online synchronous
• Prerequisites: IMT 580
• Application required - Please complete the application form by the add code distribution dates listed on the form. 

In this seminar, we seek to deepen the skill development started in IMT 580, through continuation of The Leadership Challenge and the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI). As a class, we will dive more deeply into each of the 5 practices, through discussion and reflection exercises. Through individual coaching sessions, the instructor will examine each student’s LPI, and discuss strengths and areas for improvement, working with them to better understand the results and coaching them on how to develop and implement strategies for long-term leadership development. Students will also leverage peer groups to share, reflect and advise each other on LPI results and leadership development lessons learned. 

INFO 492 A: Intensive Capstone - Data Science & Analytics

• Instructor: Tanu Mitra
• 8 credits; standard grading
• Prerequisites: INFO 300 and INFO 360

Team-based capstone data projects will work on real-world challenges that surface on online social platforms and the data and algorithms powering these online platforms. Hence, the focus will be on data generated on online platforms, such as, Facebook, X, Reddit, YouTube, TikTok, Spotify, news platforms and the corresponding real-world trust and safety challenges that emerge on these platforms (examples include, misinformation, hate speech, toxicity, polarization, radicalization, bias, social inequalities, etc.) and how those could be exacerbated with the modern advances of AI, such as large language models. The first few weeks of this course will comprise multiple readings, in-class discussions, and in-class practicum sessions to introduce you to basic concepts of analyzing data left behind in social media platforms and the risks posed by modern-day AI capabilities . During this time, students will have the opportunity to read technical papers, write their reflections where they will not just summarize the paper but think about what additional questions the paper enables. This is their chance to come up with a cool project idea based on what they just read. I will also provide students with a list of high level topics and suggestions. Students will blog about their ideas, which will ultimately lead to team pitches and project proposals. We will also have mid-term check points for their final projects and multiple practicum sessions and weekly milestone checks during the course of the quarter.

INFO 492 C: Intensive Capstone - No/Low Code Technology Strategies and Solutions for Non-profits

• Instructor: Elizabeth Geri
• 8 credits; Standard grading

Nonprofits and small businesses frequently face constraints in budget and technical expertise, limiting their ability to implement and manage sophisticated technology solutions. These solutions could significantly enhance engagement with their beneficiaries, efficiently handle constituent management, and automate repetitive tasks.

This intensive capstone will work with a nonprofit client to delivery technology solutions to improve operations.  Working in teams, we will identify high-value workflows that can be automated and utilize no/low-code solutions for designing, developing, and testing these workflows. We will deploy these solutions and transition their management to nonprofits, unburdening them from menial tasks and freeing up resources to focus on their missions and impact.  The client will likely most likely involve building a grant management tool or management of the distribution of goods and services.

This class will be joined by iSchool faculty member Nam-ho Park as an advisor and uses the same basic model as his INFO 492 course Winter 2025.

INFO 494 A: Research Studio - Justice-Centered Programming Languages

• Instructor: Amy J. Ko
• 2 credits; credit/no credit grading

This recurring, quarterly research studio will engage you as a volunteer open source contributor that helps design, build, and maintain Wordplay, creative coding research platform for creating accessible, interactive typographic media. Our research goals are to create a global platform for creative expression with language that celebrates every individual's culture, identity, and values, while also enabling youth to learn about the power and limits of data and algorithms. Your contributions can include designing and redesigning the language and platform, implementing new user interface features, improving correctness and reliability of current features, localizing to one or more of the world's languages, writing automated tests, creating Wordplay examples, verifying accessibility, and teaching your peers. As a studio course, there will be no lectures, only community-based making, collaboration, coordination, and communication. Can be taken multiple times, and volunteer work can continue beyond the quarter.

INFO 498 A: Child-Computer Interaction (CCI)

• Instructor: Rotem Landesman
• 4 credits; standard grading

An introductory look at the field, this course focuses on research related to the design of interactive technologies for and with children; the various ways children use interactive technologies; and the impact of children’s technology-related experiences on their health, wellbeing, learning, and other key aspects of child development. Questions guiding the course include: How do children of different ages, abilities, and interests engage with and make sense of their experiences with interactive technologies? What role do developmental factors, family context, peers, school, and socio-cultural influences play in shaping these experiences? How should designers approach the design of interactive technologies for children? How should researchers approach the study of children’s use of new and emerging technologies?

INFO 498 B: UX Design of Games

• Instructor: Andy Cargile
• 5 credits; standard grading

This course focuses on UX for games in depth. The first part of the course contains deep dives into various aspects of UX design in general: UX design, UI design, Visual design, and Game design. Then, the course will focus on the practice of creating components of the game user experience including maps, inventory, onboarding, sound design, and more. We will end will topics on accessibility, mobile, and console UX design. 

Students will work individually and in small teams of two on assignments. Assignments will include mood boards, wireframes, prototypes and several UX makeovers of existing games. Unlike Game Design for Social Good, there will be no large team project and no focus on social good specifically.

INFO 498 C: Age of Autonomy

• Instructor: Elias Greendorfer
• 5 credits; standard grading

This course examines the relationship between technology and autonomy across personal, communal, and political contexts, focusing particularly on the ways technologies mediate our sense of self, agency, and ways of being in the world. From artifacts that mark major life events to digital systems that structure organizational and social processes, technology is not passive but rather an active force in shaping who we are and how we navigate change. A QR code embedded in a wedding ceremony, a smartphone gifted to a young person as a gesture of trust, or an online portal facilitating legal processes each function as more than digital tools. Through the lens of design, students will critically and creatively explore how technologies at times enable and promote systems of power, while at other times they stand in opposition of them. In exploring these ideas, students in this course will engage with related literature in HCI, participate in discussions and debates, and undertake hands-on projects that interrogate and reimagine the tools and technologies that shape contemporary society, while also developing equitable and sustainable designs for its future.

INFO 498 D: Inventing the Internet(s)

• Instructor: Richard Lewei Huang
• 4 credits; standard grading

How did the Internet come to be? Covering the period from the 1960s to today, this course investigates the social, cultural, political, and technological forces that together created and shaped the internet(s) as we know today. Topics covered will include technological determinism, military and countercultural origins of the Internet, rise of personal computing, alternative forms of online sociality, commercialization of the web, Web 2.0 and the platform economy, and geopolitical tensions that may shape the future of the Internet. In addition to readings and lectures, students will be able to get hands-on experience in tinkering with historical computer networking artifacts through remote connections and the use of virtual machines. Students will learn to critically analyze narratives of internet histories in popular discourse, appreciate the diversity of internet cultures and experiences around the globe, and gain practical skills in system administration and digital heritage preservation in hands-on retro networking workshops.

INFO 498 E: AI, Empathy, and Human Connection

• Instructor: Jamie Prins
• 4 credits; standard grading

Have you ever found yourself talking to your devices? Whether it's an AI model with conversational capabilities like ChatGPT, or an AI assistant like Apple's Siri, we often find ourselves forming unexpected connections with machines. This course delves into the AI personification, exploring how we attribute human-like qualities to technology. We'll examine the psychological underpinnings of this phenomenon, its potential benefits, and the societal impact, while critically analyzing the ethical risks associated with the humanization of AI. Through discussions, readings, and assignments, you'll gain a deeper understanding of AI personification and learn the importance of design practices that prioritize human connection and well-being in an increasingly AI-powered world.

INSC 508 A: Reading Seminar - Games and Play-based Interventions for Supporting Media and Information Literacy

• Instructor: Jin Ha Lee
• 2 credits; Credit/No-credit grading 

In this seminar, we will explore the use of games and play-based activities as educational tools for building resilience to misinformation and improving media and information literacy. We will examine various game-based interventions, critically evaluating their effectiveness in fostering awareness and understanding of issues related to misinformation and disinformation. Additionally, we will review the literature to better understand the potential of games to empower individuals in navigating the complex landscape of information literacy, as well as their limitations. Through collaborative discussions and case studies, we will envision best practices for designing future interventions that leverage engaging gameplay to address challenging topics in diverse communities. Our focus will be on identifying key elements—such as narrative, collaboration, and reflection—that can enhance educational outcomes.

INSC 578 B: Research Seminar - Misinformation

• Instructor: Jevin West
• 2 credits; credit/no credit grading

In this course, students will have the opportunity to engage, hands-on, in multiple aspects of the research process, including the development of research questions, review of the literature, data cleaning and analysis, and the writing of a scholarly paper. Research will focus on understanding how misinformation and disinformation flows through modern information systems and how this information translates into beliefs, actions and values. Students will work with data created at the Center for an Informed Public. The goal of the class is to produce a scholarly paper draft that can be shared broadly within this growing research community and on students’ resumes and recommendation letters.

INSC 598 A: Career Preparation for PhD Students

• Instructor: Marika Cifor
• 2 credits; Credit/No-credit grading

This class is intended for late-stage PhD students who are beginning to apply for jobs and put together job materials. Students will craft research, teaching, and diversity statements, prepare job talks showcasing their work, and connect with industry and academic professionals to grow their network and learn about hiring processes. As students will be required to prepare application materials as part of the class, they should be in a stage of their career where they are actively preparing for the job market.

INSC 598 B: Social Algorithms

• Instructor: Martin Saveski
• 3 credits; Standard grading

Digital platforms mediate many of our social interactions. At the core of these platforms are algorithms that influence what we see, what we believe, and how we act. The actions of these social algorithms are shaped by users' past behaviors and, in turn, influence users’ future behaviors, creating powerful feedback loops that can lead to unintended outcomes. In this seminar course, we will survey the cutting-edge research on social algorithms and their effects on individuals and society. 

This PhD-level course has two primary objectives: (i) to expose students to the latest research on the effects of various social algorithms and introduce them to computational tools and methods for studying these effects, and (ii) to cultivate research skills through reading, reviewing, presenting, and discussing recent academic papers.

LIS 598 F: Black Information Futures

• Instructor: Tracie D. Hall
• 4 credits; Standard grading

Using artist Alisha Wormsley’s contested billboard affirmation, “There are black people in the future" as its catalyst, this course will examine whether and how this declaration applies to the agency and authorship of Black people in the information future given the histories of inequitable access to information and information-meting institutions such as schools and libraries, and to the freedom to read and write, more generally. Using various historical periods, movements, theories, events, and phenomena as frames including antebellum slavery; the Civil Rights, Black Power, and Black Arts movements; Brown v. Board of Education; the McCarthy Era; the rise of mass incarceration and the school-to-prison pipeline; Afrofuturism; Hurricane Katrina; the impact of climate change on Black geographies; the advent and ubiquity of Artificial Intelligence; and the current wave of censorship targeting queer and Black voices and lived experiences, this course seeks to uncover what we can learn about how information has been and might be used to create and compound bias, prejudice, racialization, racism, and redlining or conversely, to inform Black liberation and survival strategies. 

This course is designed for those generally interested in futurist thinking, critical histories of libraries, Black studies, intellectual freedom, digital disparity, and the intersections of race and technology; and for those seeking to build specific practical and theoretical knowledge bases for Black and Ethnic Studies librarianship; cultural heritage and memory work; and information policy.

LIS 598 H: Information Architecture

• Instructor: TBD
• 5 credits; Standard grading

This course Introduces concepts and methods of front- and back-end information architecture. Includes hands-on teamwork using the latest software tools for data and content modeling, taxonomy development, controlled vocabulary creation and SEO considerations. The course also covers traditional user experience design topics such as inclusive design processes, design patterns, navigation, workflow, labeling, diverse user research and user flow diagrams. Teams produce a series of project deliverables suitable for building a professional portfolio.

Winter 2025

IMT 589 B: Product Strategy & Leadership

• Instructor: Nitin T. Bhat
• 4 credits; standard grading
• Prerequisite: IMT 587
• Add code request form

This course provides a deep dive of skills, practices, and frameworks foundational to a career in product management (with a focus on product strategy in diverse markets and organizations). Emphasizes strategic storytelling, leadership of teams and the development of proposals and roadmaps grounded in customer needs, business objectives, and technical possibilities.

IMT 589 C: Implementing and Managing Artificial Intelligence (AI) Systems

• Instructor: Richard Sturman
• 4 credits; standard grading

This course explores the strategies and considerations needed for the effective deployment, governance, and management of AI systems within organizational settings. Students will examine the ethical implications of AI and the importance of ensuring that these systems serve the needs of diverse populations and organizational goals. Students will learn how to design and implement AI systems that align with organizational objectives while prioritizing human well-being, fairness and sustainability, through real-world applications, case studies, and hands-on projects.

IMT 589 D: Qualitative and Design Methods for Data Science

• Instructor: Jaime Snyder
• 4 credits; standard grading
• Offered jointly with LIS 598 H

Data science students are introduced to qualitative and design methods to support human-centered perspectives, heighten awareness of discriminatory practices, and make connections between identity and data. Readings and hands-on activities provide students with novel tools for better understanding the ways in which people are defined and represented through data practices.

IMT 589 E: Reading Seminar

• Instructor: David Hendry
• 2 credits; credit/no credit grading

In this quarterly reading seminar, you will read about 40 pages per week and discuss a text at one weekly meeting. You will develop your thinking and leadership skills while helping to create a flourishing community of information management professionals. The Winter 2025 book: 

Kane, G. C., Phillips, A. N., Copulsky, J. R., and Andrus, G. R. (2019). The Technology Fallacy: How People are the Real Key to Digital Transformation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. [ISBN-13: 978-0262039680] [About $20.00 at the usual places | UW Library]

The Technology Fallacy outlines how digital technologies are disrupting organizations of every size and kind. Based on four years of research, the book argues that the “best way to respond to digital disruption is by changing the company culture to be more agile, risk tolerant, and experimental.” In this reading seminar, we will examine this thesis and its consequences for information management. 

More about the MSIM Reading Seminar and Community Books.

IMT 598 A: Low-Code No-Code Development

• Instructor: Fawad Khan
• 3 credits; standard grading

According to Gartner, 65% of overall application development will be using No-code/Low-code in organizations by 2024. Start with understanding the basics of digital transformation, Cloud computing, and how they are evolving the development and business landscape. Learn about the next revolution in cloud computing development using the low-code and no-code development platforms. Using these platforms, both business and IT users can create business applications with minimal development experience. Discover and learn how you, as a regular IT or business user, can solve some of the common and complex business problems using these platforms. Understand the power of data and how to build business solutions quickly by integrating data from various sources, incorporating business flows, building internal/external Websites, and including virtual chatbots in your applications.

IMT 598 B: Epistemological Foundations of AI

• Instructor: Bill Howe
• 3 credits; standard grading

This course is focused on the intellectual foundations of critical engagement with AI. The course will draw on historical, philosophical, and cultural scholarship on information, science, and technology with particular attention paid to disciplinary and epistemological tensions between different modes of knowledge production. Example course topics will cover (but are not limited to): the rise of statistical reasoning and datafied ways of knowing, histories of social surveillance and risk management, and contemporary legacies of relevant prior scientific paradigms (e.g., eugenics, cybernetics, and beyond). Through intensive reading and discussion, students will learn to critically assess the aims and assumptions of various scientific rationalities and cultural logics underwriting AI, demonstrating their learning through 1) an original scholarly essay and 2) a focused study of a prominent AI system or initiative.

INFO 415 A: Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT)

• Instructor: Lindah Kotut
• 4 credits; Standard grading
• Writing credit

This course is geared at covering topics in cybersecurity that are not otherwise covered in the IAC curriculum. The course will center around the theme of Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) in the context of cybersecurity. Topics discussed in the class will include tools and technologies used to effect OSINT, privacy enhancing technologies (PETS), threat actors, and operational security (OPSEC). We will also discuss how emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence/ChatGPT etc., impact the offensive and defensive postures in Red and Blue teams.

INFO 492 A: Intensive Capstone - No/Low Code Technology Strategies and Solutions for Non-profits

• Instructor: Nam-ho Park
• 8 credits; Standard grading

Nonprofits frequently face constraints in budget and technical expertise, limiting their ability to implement and manage sophisticated technology solutions. These solutions could significantly enhance engagement with their beneficiaries, efficiently handle constituent management, and automate repetitive tasks. The class aims to identify high-value workflows that can be automated and utilize no/low-code solutions for designing, developing, and testing these workflows. Our goal is to deploy these solutions and transition their management to nonprofits, unburdening them from menial tasks and freeing up resources to focus on their missions and impact.

INFO 492 C: Intensive Capstone - Scaling Rural Healthcare with AI and Large Language Models 

• Instructor: Frank Martinez
• 8 credits; Standard grading

Students will research how AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) might be used to expand capacity for rural healthcare providers. Students will engage with different healthcare stakeholders throughout Washington state to inform their LLM research findings. They will also design and prototype LLM-based healthcare tools to inform their research experiments. Students should be familiar with and have experience building within popular LLM platforms, such as Hugging Face, Ollama, Cursor, Replit.

INFO 494 A: Research Studio - Justice-Centered Programming Languages

• Instructor: Amy J. Ko
• 2 credits; credit/no credit grading

This recurring, quarterly research studio will engage you as a volunteer open source contributor that helps design, build, and maintain Wordplay, creative coding research platform for creating accessible, interactive typographic media. Our research goals are to create a global platform for creative expression with language that celebrates every individual's culture, identity, and values, while also enabling youth to learn about the power and limits of data and algorithms. Your contributions can include designing and redesigning the language and platform, implementing new user interface features, improving correctness and reliability of current features, localizing to one or more of the world's languages, writing automated tests, creating Wordplay examples, verifying accessibility, and teaching your peers. As a studio course, there will be no lectures, only community-based making, collaboration, coordination, and communication. Can be taken multiple times, and volunteer work can continue beyond the quarter.

INFO 498 A: AI, Robots, and Transcending Religion

• Instructor: Wes Eli King
• 4 credits; standard grading
• Online asynchronous

Can a Robot Be Divine? Will humans merge with technologies that enable them to transcend current reality? This course will engage with these questions and others as we survey philosophical concepts, ethical principles, and popular culture connecting AI and religion.

This course aims to:

• Introduce students to theories about the influence of religion on technological innovation.
• Explore development of religious robots.
• Develop students’ critical and analytical skills for examining ethical debates about AI.

By the end of the course, successful students will be able to:

• Recognize key religious concepts and theories of technology.
• Describe ways religions use robots and imagine technological futures.
• Engage with religious worldviews and ethical principles that influence the development, content, form, and use of AI.

INFO 498 C: Text Reuse, AI, & the Art of Stealing

• Instructor: Anna Preus and Melanie Walsh
• 5 credits; Standard grading
• Offered jointly with English (ENGL 413 A) and Textual Studies (TXTDS 403 A)

Examines artificial intelligence technologies in the context of literary and cultural histories of text reuse. Explores concepts including intellectual property, authorship, parody, and adaptation, drawing on approaches from literary studies and data science. Considers impacts of data and computation on textual production and analysis.

INFO 498 D: Fundamentals of Game Design for Social Good

• Instructor: Andy Cargile
• 5 credits; standard grading

The course will start with several weeks of game design basics, including mechanics, dynamics, “fun”, visual and UX design for games, narrative, user research for games, and an overview of game genres. We’ll then cover various aspects of games for social good, including game-based learning, social awareness games, social action games, and social engagement games in a variety of categories. We will also cover topics such as toxicity in multiplayer games, representation, and more. Assignments will focus on team creation more than theory and we will have a final team project where you create a game prototype.

INFO 498 E: Infomocracy: Sci-Fi, Democracy, and Information Systems

• Instructor: Katherine Alejandra Cross
• 4 credits; standard grading

Science fiction, famously, gives us a glimpse of where technology may be going. But, at its best, it can also show us where society, as a whole, is headed. What technologies underlie democracy, and what does sci-fi have to say about where all that might be headed? And what does science fiction's commentary on information technology suggest about our own time? We'll read Malka Older's novel Infomocracy and several short stories by some of the biggest names in contemporary sci-fi for answers (and to ask interesting questions). We'll also look at some nonfiction readings to contextualise it all. From cyberpunk, to spaceships and lasers, to robots and aliens, we'll dive into it all to think critically about the interplay between tech and democracy, with an eye towards seeing how information systems and democratic systems have a lot more overlap than you might expect.

INFO 498 F: Understanding and Navigating Cognitive and Behavioral Change in the AI Era

• Instructor: Chris Fu
• 4 credits; standard grading

Humans have been using tools that significantly shape our cognition and behavior. With AI's swift evolution, our working and thinking processes have been profoundly altered and enhanced in recent years. The influence of AI on our cognition and behavior remains an active area of research with diverse beliefs, theoretical frameworks, and empirical findings. This course encourages deep reflection on how AI tools might alter us in the coming decades and how we should adapt to these changes. Moreover, students will gain personal experience with these tools, observing firsthand the transformations they undergo throughout the course. To capture these shifts, the course will employ self-observation, evaluative surveys, and reflective exercises along with traditional reading reflections and class projects as learning tasks.

INSC 578 B: Research Seminar - Misinformation

• Instructor: Jevin West
• 2 credits; credit/no credit grading

In this course, students will have the opportunity to engage, hands-on, in multiple aspects of the research process, including the development of research questions, review of the literature, data cleaning and analysis, and the writing of a scholarly paper. Research will focus on understanding how misinformation and disinformation flows through modern information systems and how this information translates into beliefs, actions and values. Students will work with data created at the Center for an Informed Public. The goal of the class is to produce a scholarly paper draft that can be shared broadly within this growing research community and on students’ resumes and recommendation letters.

LIS 598 A: Library Collaboration and Partnership

• Instructor: Lorcan Dempsey
• 4-credits; standard grading

No library is an island. Libraries are embedded in multiple collaborative and partner networks to get their work done. Participation in, and management of, these network relations is a central part of a library's work. Several sets of relations are especially important. 

1. Libraries work with other libraries in consortia - to negotiate, to share systems and collections, to learn and innovate, and to lobby and concentrate their influence. 

2. Libraries collaborate with community partners to co-create or deliver services. This might include the Teaching and Learning Center or Office of Research for the academic library, or Departments of Arts and Culture or Education, or a local Community College, for the public library. 

3. Libraries may work with groups of users to co-create services, to get feedback, to evolve.

It is important for libraries to recognize these relationships in their strategy, planning and management. To make decisions and allocate resources accordingly, and to decide when to collaborate and partner to get things done and when to do it themselves. 

This course will include opportunities to learn from library leaders, consortium leaders and others. The focus will be on both public and academic libraries, but the principles and practices are broadly applicable. There will be a special focus on inter-library collaboration, but the other forms of collaboration will also be covered. Some experience of working in a library will be helpful, but not essential. 

LIS 598 E: Search & Discovery

• Instructor: Ben Lee
• 4 credits; Standard grading
• Online Asynchronous 

Search is at the heart of library and information science, dictating what information is made discoverable and how it is navigated. This course will investigate search & discovery and its many facets, from the technical challenges of searching petabytes of web archives to fundamental questions of who dictates what is made searchable and who has access. Accordingly, this course will adopt an interdisciplinary approach to search & discovery, drawing from fields including computer science, data science, critical information studies, science & technology studies, and cataloging. A particular emphasis will be placed on studying existing search & discovery systems for digital collections held by libraries, archives, and museums, as well as emerging trends within these institutions.

Students with coding experience are welcome to enroll in this course, but there are no coding prerequisites. For assignments and projects, students will have the option to build, evaluate, investigate, or imagine new search systems for digital collections using their preferred methodologies, whether coding, writing, designing, or implementing.

LIS 598 H: Qualitative and Design Methods for Data Science

• Instructor: Jaime Snyder
• 4 credits; standard grading
• Offered jointly with IMT 589 D

Data science students are introduced to qualitative and design methods to support human-centered perspectives, heighten awareness of discriminatory practices, and make connections between identity and data. Readings and hands-on activities provide students with novel tools for better understanding the ways in which people are defined and represented through data practices.