CMSC 848Y / Fall 2026

AI, Public Policy, and Society

Course description

Integrating AI with society with effective policy.

This course studies how AI systems are built, evaluated, governed, and contested when deployed in public settings.

Students will read technical papers, policy analyses, standards, incident reports, and case studies. The course will span disciplines and be based around discussion.

Learning goals

What students will practice.

Connect model behavior to institutional, legal, and operational constraints.

Write technical policy briefs for mixed technical and non-technical audiences.

Evaluate AI systems beyond benchmark performance.

Syllabus

Weekly arc.

Readings, assignments, and slide links can be replaced as the course is finalized.

Week 1

TBA

TBA

TBA