New AI literacy course takes VCU students behind the screen

By Sian Wilkerson

A new Virginia Commonwealth University course is offering students a beginner-friendly overview of artificial intelligence, examining what the technology is, how it works and the tools needed to address the questions - and challenges - that its use can pose.

HUMS 204: AI Literacy, which debuted this semester, brings together ideas from the humanities, sciences and social sciences while also introducing students to VCU's own AI tools and guidelines.

Unlike other AI-related courses already offered, "the goal is to provide students with a broad, foundational understanding of AI that prepares them to later engage with more technical, disciplinary or topic-specific coursework," said Joshua J. Smith, Ph.D., the founder and chair of the Media + AI Initiative at VCU. "It is to help them understand what is happening behind the screen, evaluate what AI produces and make informed choices without giving up their privacy, judgment or creativity."

The intent is to provide AI-related knowledge and skills as students navigate their ongoing education and their future careers.

"We are making it a top priority to prepare students for a rapidly changing workforce," said Marcus Messner, Ph.D., executive associate dean for strategic initiatives and academic affairs with the College of Humanities and Sciences. "Just as importantly, we want students to enter that workforce prepared to use AI thoughtfully, critically and responsibly."

From their classes to their daily lives, students are already encountering AI everywhere. But "many have not received a clear introduction - or any introduction - to how these tools work, where they can go wrong or how to use them responsibly," said Smith, special assistant to the dean for innovative learning and AI initiatives in the College of Humanities and Sciences and associate professor in the Richard T. Robertson School of Communication.

As part of VCU's General Education curriculum, HUMS 204 is geared toward students from all majors, regardless of any previous technical experience.

"One of our goals is to curate a nimble and responsive General Education curriculum, one that provides a strong intellectual foundation while evolving to meet the world our students are entering," said Virginia Wray Totaro, director of general education at VCU. "HUMS 204 is a great example. Rather than simply teaching students how to use AI, it asks them to think critically about what AI produces, consider its ethical implications and make informed decisions about when and how to use it. Those are durable skills that will serve students well beyond VCU."

Throughout the course, students learn:

• How algorithms, training data and chatbots work.
• How and why AI can produce biased, inaccurate or made-up information.
• How to identify misleading or false AI outputs.

They will also consider what happens to information entered into an AI system, and how to protect their own information and creative work.

Additional lessons cover privacy, intellectual property, ethics and ownership, including some of the ongoing litigation related to IP and artistic works used to train large language models without consent. Students will also learn about major advancements made possible with the assistance of AI tools in health and medicine, marketing and communications, and research.

"I wanted to make this course flexible in the sense that students may practice with VCU-supported tools such as Gemini, but they control how much they use them," Smith said. "Under the course's AI Choice policy, a student may limit or decline generative AI use and complete alternate versions of assignments."

Such choice is important, he noted, "because AI literacy includes knowing when to use AI, when not to use it and how to make that decision based on one's own values and comfort level."

In addition to the new literacy course, VCU offers several AI-related programs and courses, ranging from introductory-level to more specialized offerings. The AI Guidebook, produced by the Office of Academic Affairs, provides an overview of the offerings, as well as a list of the generative AI tools available to faculty, staff and students through Technology Services.