Faculty First Year Seminars 191CICS2 - Computing/Sustainable Future

How can computing, artificial intelligence, and technology impact sustainability and real-world challenges such as climate change? This seminar explores projects and research at the intersection of computing, AI, and sustainability, and how you can begin contributing now and in your future career! This seminar includes the same supportive elements as other FYS courses (e.g., student success and support resources, learning resource center, career advising). Beyond that shared foundation, this seminar introduces the broad and evolving landscape of sustainability, with a particular focus on how computing and AI are shaping solutions, from energy-efficient systems and smart buildings to data-driven environmental decision-making. The course is fundamentally transdisciplinary. This class will present ideas, invite responses, foster discussions, and include fun activities with your classmates. We will also examine the growing impact of AI, including its environmental costs and its potential to drive solutions. Is AI part of the problem, part of the solution, or both? Together, we will explore this tension through case studies and ongoing sustainability projects at UMass and beyond.

First-year (R1ST)