Cornell University will offer a three-credit artificial intelligence course next spring that is open to students in any major, requires no technical background and has room for 275 students.
The course, “Everyday AI: Learning to use AI effectively and responsibly” (INFO 1720), will cover how current AI tools work and how to judge when to use them, according to a Cornell Chronicle announcement. It appears in Cornell’s class roster under the name “Introduction to Applied AI.”
Students will build and assess AI tools
The Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science designed the course around hands-on work. Students will study large language models, diffusion models and AI agents, while examining what those systems can and cannot do and how their use affects society.
Course projects will begin with students using AI to address problems tied to their own interests, which could include agriculture, engineering, business, medicine, the arts or public policy. They will then develop ideas for their communities or academic fields before working in small groups to explore new applications.
By the end of the course, Cornell expects students to be able to explain the basics of AI systems, use them responsibly, design and build tools, evaluate their effects and apply them in new settings.
Lisa Huang, an assistant teaching professor of information science, said the course is intended to move students beyond asking AI for information. Students will build and evaluate tools that matter to their work and decide when AI is appropriate, she said.
Huang will co-teach with Rene Kizilcec, an associate professor of information science. Kizilcec said the goal is for students to become capable users who also recognize when AI is not the right tool.
Spring enrollment opens in November
Undergraduate enrollment for the spring 2027 semester begins Nov. 11. Cornell says students from any major can sign up for INFO 1720 without prior AI experience or a technical prerequisite.
Cornell Bowers developed the course with input from Matthew Wilkens, the college’s associate dean of education; David Mimno, chair of information science; Steven Jackson, Cornell’s vice provost for academic innovation; and Sorin Lerner, dean of Cornell Bowers.
The new class follows the college’s “AI for All” online summer course for high school and college students and a six-week AI workshop for staff. Cornell Bowers also plans to launch two online master’s programs in AI next fall.
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