AI Literacy for Public Health Professionals

ID 245 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

The course is a hands-on, application-oriented course that builds practical AI literacy for public health students, regardless of prior technical background. Students will develop a working conceptual understanding of how machine learning, deep learning, and large language models function; gain direct, guided experience using generative AI tools through structured prompting, custom-tool design, and critical evaluation; and examine the ethical, equity, and regulatory dimensions of AI in medicine and population health. Key topics include the foundations of AI and machine learning, the architecture behind modern generative AI, prompt engineering, AI innovation in health, algorithmic bias and responsible AI, ethical frameworks and governance, and the current regulatory landscape. Through lectures, in-class use of AI, group work, peer critique, and sessions with expert guest speakers, students progress from foundational concepts to independent, critical application, culminating in a human–AI collaborative policy project.