AI, IoT, and Robotic Foundations

This unit introduces the historical development and contemporary architectures of artificial intelligence, examines projections for human-level AI and its societal impacts, and surveys the converging technologies of the Internet of Things and robotics for environmental monitoring and urban systems. Students will build conceptual frameworks that prepare them to design, evaluate, and manage data-driven sensor networks and automated systems in later units.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze key milestones, architectures, and paradigms in the evolution of artificial intelligence to distinguish narrow AI, machine learning approaches, and the concept of human-level (AGI) intelligence
• Evaluate technical, ethical, and societal factors that influence predictions about when AI may reach human-level performance and defend evidence-based positions on potential impacts
• Apply IoT and sensor-network principles to design a basic planetary monitoring or smart-city data collection use case, specifying sensors, data flows, and data types for downstream analysis
• Demonstrate strategies for managing and securing IoT and robotic systems by developing a concise management plan that addresses device provisioning, data stewardship, scalability, and risk mitigation