C42 AI Alignment: Moral, Political and Computational Foundations

• Offered under: 6.S051, 17.S917
• Term(s): Spring
• Level: Undergraduate 
• Instructors: Bernardo Zacka (Political Science), Bailey Flanigan (Political Science & SCC/EECS)
• Units: 12
• Prerequisite: This class is open to all. Experience with basic algorithms and a basic grasp of probability theory are helpful but not required.

Explores moral, political, and computational foundations of AI alignment. Draws on political theory and computer science to consider how individual and collective values are elicited and embedded in AI.

Topics include bureaucracy-based versus AI-based decision rules; the concept of values; fairness and welfare objectives; pluralism and democratic input; and how well technical elicitation methods can capture considered judgments. Activities include seminar discussion, periodic problem sets, short response papers, and a course research project.