Human Connection (In the Age of AI)

NOTE: This course is pending approval for Spring 2027 and should be scheduled soon.

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Human Connection (In the Age of AI)

Description

Human connection is foundational to our wellbeing — as individuals, communities and society. Understanding how we form, maintain, and deepen meaningful relationships with others is a critical aspect of leading a healthy and satisfying life. Our rapidly changing and increasingly technocentric world is presenting new challenges—and highlighting important questions: How do we sustain meaningful human-to-human connection in the age of AI? What makes human connection so foundational to health and thriving? 

This course focuses on the importance of the felt sense of connection (belonging, social bonds, caring, trust) situated within the challenges of a rapidly changing world. We will delve into the vulnerabilities, opportunities, paradoxes, and tensions of navigating an increasingly technocentric and AI-infused world. This hybrid course, involving faculty from across UC Berkeley, draws on an interdisciplinary approach to understanding AI’s influence as a lens through which we examine the value of human connection.

Importantly, students will engage with active intention in this course, developing skills and putting into practice the principles of human connection. They will do this in weekly experiential learning opportunities that will involve partnered work, small group interactions, and intentional communication exercises. Opening ourselves up, gradually, to vulnerable interactions – and having a course environment where it’s safe to engage in this vulnerability – is crucial for the learning processes this course aims to create.This course emphasizes the Berkeley Changemaker pillars of critical thinking, effective communication, and productive collaboration, which are the skills necessary to make positive changes in our rapidly changing world.

Class Overview and Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

Critical Thinking: Deepen their understanding of the value and felt experience of human connection as foundational to human health and well being–and gain insights into its importance in our daily lives and personal experiences.

Critical Thinking: Understand, discover, and appreciate the differences in human-to-human and human-to-AI interactions.

Collaboration: Practice collaborative problem-solving in a variety of contexts that intentionally move between human-to-human, human-to-AI, and AI-to-human interactions.

Communication: Engage with intention with new ideas and reflect on the impacts of those new ideas both for developing their own thinking and enhancing their personal felt experience of connectedness in this class.

Communication: Integrate what they have learned into an actionable project related to fostering and promoting healthy human connection in a real-world context of their choosing.

Classroom image of student speaking while seated in student group

This course will be designed in a “flipped” model of learning. This means that the majority of live class time will be spent engaging in interactive activities, including small group interactions, some creative and playful group exercises and guided discussion prompts, with your peers (in your discussion pods) and in active conversation with your instructor(s). 

Instructor & Course Designers

Headshot of Ron Dahl

Distinguished Professor, School of Public Health | Faculty Director, Berkeley Changemaker

Instructor of Record and Course Designer

Jenae Cohn, Executive Director, Center for Teaching and Learning

Course Designer

Headshot of Laura Hassner

Laura Hassner, Executive Director, Berkeley Changemaker

Course Designer

Key Course Features

Berkeley Changemaker is a registered trademark of The Regents of the University of California through its Berkeley campus. It is not affiliated with any third parties using “changemaker” or similar terms.