“AI in Everyday Life” course for OpenEU PhD Students
The CyCAT team is pleased to offer a self-paced, online version of its innovative course, exclusively for the OpenEU community of PhD students.
So, what is AI really? We’ve all heard the hype – as well as the doom and gloom – surrounding Artificial Intelligence. Will AI make our lives easier, by providing us with the futuristic gadgets that we see in sci-fi movies? Or, will it become smarter than us and replace us as decision makers in our own lives? What is all this talk about AI driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution and what does it mean for young people who will soon be entering the workforce…or for those who entered the workforce before the rise of AI?
The reality is that AI is already a part of our everyday lives. From the use of applications such as “ChatGPT” to summarize or translate a text for us, to the use of the Google search engine that returns the information we requested in just a few seconds, or even when we discover interesting content on social networks, we are using AI. In this course, we will draw on our familiarity with such “everyday” applications, to explore the technical, but also social and ethical aspects, of the modern AI paradigm.
CyCAT is offering a new addition of its online course, “AI in Everyday Life”, as we believe that everyone can and should learn – at least – the basic concepts surrounding the nature of data-driven AI. The course’s goal is to enable learners to be able to analyze and evaluate the AI technologies and applications that they come into contact with, in real world situations. Anyone can “soundoff” with an uninformed opinion about AI, its possible positive and negative impacts; however, we want to position members of the public to have an educated perspective on AI applications, informed by thoughtful analysis driven by data collected in real situations, which document AI behaviors.
The main objective of the series of courses is to help participants appreciate the nature of today’s AI technologies, as to become more critical end users.
In particular, learners will:
- Understand the basic elements of modern, data-driven AI technologies, and how they are developed;
- Become familiar with fundamental definitions and concepts related to data science and AI;
- Be able to explain what machine learning is and how it relates to Big Data;
- Analyze a given “everyday” application and identify its basic functions;
- Critique the same application as to its potential social and ethical implication;
- Comprehend the role of their own personal data in the AI ecosystem.
The course consists of eight units and it will cover the following:
- Introduction to AI in Everyday Life
- Fundamentals of AI Applications
- Ethical Issues in AI
- Machine Learning and Big Data
- Vision Technologies
- Language Technologies
- Search Technologies
- Personalization Technologies
Both asynchronous and synchronous learning activities are incorporated into the course, such that participants can work at their own pace. The course will launch on 1 November 2025 and will conclude on 31 January 2026. A “bonus” synchronous presentation will be offered during which the instructors will present the data collected by participants during the course, facilitating a discussion of the findings.
The course assumes no technical background. There is no registration fee, however, participants will be expected to participate actively in the course exercises, as to successfully complete the course. Participants who complete the AI in Everyday Life course will be the first to learn of our research results and will receive a certificate of completion.
As participants must be currently enrolled PhD students in OpenEU partner universities, interested individuals should enroll through their universities. Please look for the relevant announcement about OpenEU courses from your home university.
1 November 2025 12:00 am (GMT)
Online