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This project aims to broaden AI education by developing and studying the efficacy of innovative learning practices and resources for AI education for social good. We have developed three AI learning modules for students to: 1) identify social issues that align with the SDGs in their community (e.g., poverty, hunger, quality education); 2) learn AI through hands-on labs and business applications; and 3) create AI-powered solutions in teams to address social is-sues they have identified. Student teams are expected to situate AI learning in their communities and contribute to their communities. Students then use the modules to en-gage in an interdisciplinary approach, facilitating AI learn-ing for social good in informational sciences and technology, geography, and computer science at three CSU HSIs (San Jose State University, Cal Poly Pomona and CSU San Bernardino). Finally, we aim to evaluate the efficacy and impact of the proposed AI teaching methods and activities in terms of learning outcomes, student experience, student engagement, and equity. 

While implementing with caution, Artificial Intelligence (AI) holds potential to help nations address pressing social issues, such as homelessness, climate change, and healthcare accessibility. With the existing and potential economic and social benefits of AI, it is crucial to integrate AI learning in undergraduate education. This paper presents the preliminary findings of a course project that engages students to learn AI by prototyping solutions to address important social issues in their communities among 120 undergraduate MIS students. Students worked in groups and developed chatbots that addressed a variety of community issues during COVID-19. A survey study shows students’ enhanced understanding and mastery of AI concepts and applications, empowerment of contributing to their communities through AI innovation, and an emerging awareness of diversity, equity, and ethical issues in the community and AI technologies. We conclude with implications of learning AI, innovation, and ethics through the lens of AI for social good. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming pervasive across industries, making it important for management information systems (MIS) students to understand the ethical issues involved. We present an active learning approach to teaching the fast-changing topic of AI ethics using a debate format. This approach was piloted in an undergraduate MIS course of 30 students. Over a five-week period, student teams were assigned to argue either the opportunities (pro) or dangers (con) viewpoint for five different AI technologies. A post-project survey indicated this format helps students gain a better understanding of the applications, opportunities, and potential misuse of AI. Students found this to be an engaging and fun way to explore the multiple dimensions of AI ethics that also required them to employ critical thinking, collaboration, research, and communication skills. We share our findings about the benefits of co-creating knowledge in the classroom using a debate format to explore an evolving topic. 

We describe a pedagogical study in which we designed and implemented a module for undergraduate Management Information Systems (MIS) students, aimed at preparing them for an increasingly AI-impacted business environment and society. We developed a learning module that taps their inherent motivation to make a meaningful difference, challenging them to ideate applications of AI for social good (AI4SG), focused specifically on sustainability. We piloted the module in an existing introductory MIS course, first establishing a range of fundamental AI capabilities through hands-on demos and study cases. Then, with instructor guidance, the student teams, working in a social entrepreneurship "start-up" context, identified sustainability challenges impacting their own communities and worked together to propose and pitch AI-powered solutions. The results suggest that students find this approach deepened their understanding of sustainability issues in their communities, improved their knowledge of how AI could address social issues, and improved their confidence in their ability to innovate.