Assignments and Due Dates

Assignment

Due

Description
Assignment 1 Proposal September 29, 2026 Proposal for the Critical AI Analysis Paper
Assignment 1: Critical AI Analysis Paper October 27, 2026 Critical analysis of AI, bias, power, agency, communication, etc. 1000 word essay posted to the class blog outlining an A.I.  Platform (Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, etc)
Assignment 2: “Vibe Coding” Interactive Project November 10, 2026 Interactive project created using natural-language/AI-assisted coding
Assignment 3: Figma AI App Prototype & Final Defense December 8, 2026 Figma-based AI app prototype, presentation/demo, and final defense

September 29

  • Assignment 1 Proposal due

October 27

  • Assignment 1: Critical AI  Analysis Paper
  • Goal of the EssayDeconstruct an A.I System: Your objective is to perform a rigorous critical analysis of a specific AI tool or algorithmic platform. Beyond Surface Description: Rather than just summarizing what a tool does, you will interrogate its technical mechanics, underlying political economy, social biases, and impact on human discourse.
  • Three Aspects of the Paper1.How does the platform process data, train its models, and generate predictions? Explain tokens, neural architecture, or algorithmic ranking.

    2.What hidden labor, environmental costs, data extraction, and commercial incentives sustain the system behind the user interface?

    3. How does the system reproduce societal biases, alter interpersonal communication, or impact knowledge fidelity and trust?

November 10

  • Assignment 2: “Vibe Coding” Interactive Project due

December 8

  • Assignment 3: Figma AI App Prototype & Final Defense due
  • Final Project Showcase / Critique begins

December 15

  • Final Project Showcase / Critique Part 2

One thing I would flag: the syllabus says Session 7 (November 24) includes reviewing Figma prototypes, while Session 8 is listed as both a final showcase with Assignment 3 due and then again as December 8. I think the cleanest interpretation is that December 8 is the actual Assignment 3 deadline, with November 24 serving as the development/review session.