RES-ECON 390C: Thinking in the Age of Generative AI

Example syllabus only – exact content subject to change. Please see your instructor’s syllabus for the current term for your specific course’s guidelines

Spring 2026
Instructor: Luke Bloomfield
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: Junior Year Writing or consent of the instructor

Time: MW 1:00 PM – 2:15 PM
Classroom: 420 Thompson Hall
Format: In-person

Weekly instructional hours:
2.5 hrs (class time)
2 hrs (student hours)

Office: 309 Stockbridge Hall
Student hours: MW 11:00 – 12:00

Summary

Technology shapes the way we think—about ourselves, others, and the world around us—and our thinking, in turn, influences society in countless ways. The rise of generative AI (gen AI) introduces crucial questions about its societal impact. Will it make us more connected, engaged, and productive? Or will it lead to complacency, uncritical thinking, displacement, and disconnection?

This course draws on the idea presented by the late Walter Ong in his 1982 classic Orality and Literacy that “many of the features we have taken for granted in thought and expression…have come into being because of the resources which the technology of writing makes available to human consciousness” (Ong, 1). Ong recognized the profound impact writing as a technology had on how we interact with the world and shape our reality. What would Ong think if he were alive today to witness the birth of gen AI, a first-of-its-kind technology that can write as well as (or better than) most humans? No doubt he would double down on his stance that it is more urgent than ever that we “revise our understanding of human identity.”

This is an experiential course that will explore the opportunities and challenges presented by gen AI and its impact on society. This is an enormous topic that is largely defined by the uncertainties that emerge from it. The primary focus of this course is on investigating how gen AI, as a public interest technology, can enhance human cognitive performance in social contexts; it is also focused on increasing awareness of the potential ways it could de- or downgrade it.

This investigation is conducted against the backdrop of established cognitive skills fundamental to a healthy society—critical and creative thinking—that gen AI proponents purport will augment, and critics fear will erode or atrophy. In this course we will focus on determining when and how these skills are affected and the implications of these effects.

Students will have the opportunity to develop hands-on experience through prompt-engineering exercises that build gen AI literacy. In tandem with these exercises we will examine traditional ways of knowing and meaning-making, intellectual sovereignty, and historical contexts of technology-induced cognitive transformation. Students will have opportunities to reflect on their experiences and engagements with technology to identify effective techniques to leverage gen AI for a healthy and productive society.

The learning framework of this course is composed of three components: practice, reflection, and theory. All three components are equally valuable for students to achieve the course learning objectives. By the end of the course students should be able to clearly define a practical and ethical deployment of gen AI tools that will serve the public interest now and in the future.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, students should also be able to:

• Analyze the historical and theoretical frameworks of cognitive transformation to contextualize the impact of gen AI on human thinking.
• Evaluate the potential benefits and risks of gen AI on cognitive skills such as critical and creative thinking, assessing its implications for individuals, relationships, work, and civic engagement.
• Develop practical skills in prompt engineering to enhance gen AI literacy and critically assess its effectiveness in augmenting human performance in social contexts.
• Investigate the ethical and societal dimensions of gen AI and its relation to intellectual sovereignty, traditional knowledge systems, environmental impact, and the responsibilities associated with deploying gen AI in ways that serve the public interest.
• Design a framework within a research paper for the responsible and ethical use of gen AI tools, incorporating insights from hands-on experience and critical reflection to propose strategies for fostering a productive and healthy society.

Schedule

Grading

Grading Weight

Grading Scale

Late Work Policy

If you need extra time to complete an assignment, you must request an extension more than 12 hours before the deadline. Late work submitted without a granted extension will incur a one-point penalty per day until it is submitted.

Course Material

All readings will be available for free through Canvas. You will need to bring a personal laptop with sufficient battery life to every class, which will be used to access readings and web-based gen AI applications such as ChatGPT or Claude. If you do not own a laptop, or your laptop doesn’t work, please speak with me so I can arrange to have one available to you during class.

Attendance and Participation

You are expected to attend and participate in class. Excluding any of the standard excused reasons for being absent (sickness, personal emergency, religious observance), >2 absences and/or a noticeable lack of participation will count against your final grade, which I will assess fairly and judiciously on a case-by-case basis. Participation boils down to coming to class, actively engaging with the class, actively engaging in small groups, promptly replying to emails from me and your peers, giving thoughtful responses and feedback to peers, not doing non-class related things on your electronic device during class time. An absence may only be excused if you notify me before the class that you will miss.

AI Statement

Overview

Generative AI is a main subject of the course. We will read about it, discuss it, and experiment with it. One of our objectives is to identify gen AI uses that enhance our abilities and potential. Therefore, to complete assignments, you are allowed—but not required—to use it in the following ways:

• Brainstorming ideas
• Summarizing a text that you have already read
• Improving clarity and structure of writing you produced
• Summarizing complex concepts of which you have prior familiarity
• Checking for logical consistency and argument strength
• Soliciting source recommendations
• Translating and rewriting for clarity

Disclosure

If you choose to employ gen AI as an assistant, you must show me how you used it by submitting the complete transcript of your chat as an addendum to your submission. To do this, you must be logged-in, otherwise the application will not store any information, and I will be unable to assess your use of gen AI. It is not sufficient to merely state that you used gen AI. I must see it.

Further, if you choose to employ gen AI, you are still responsible for the content of the assignment. If gen AI produces incorrect, incomplete, inaccurate, or otherwise inadequate information, and you do not catch it, the consequence will be on you and reflected in your grade.

If I determine that gen AI was used, but you did not submit a disclosure, or that it was used inappropriately, I reserve the right to give zero credit to the assignment.

You are also allowed to use Grammarly, and like gen AI tools you must disclose this too. Note that Grammarly has its own gen AI function that can produce language from user prompts. If you use this tool, you must show how you used it like any other gen AI.

Additional Comments

You should be aware of the limits of gen AI as a writing tool, notably its propensity to present falsehoods—hallucinations, mirages, phantasmagoria, what-have-you—as though they were truth. Therefore, you should assume all information provided by gen AI is wrong unless it can be verified elsewhere.

You should also be aware that gen AI’s language constructions are bland, formulaic, monotonous, and absent of original thought. I have had little problem picking out AI-generated text among assignments since its introduction into our lives near the end of 2022 because of the repetitive quality of the language, lack of meaningful insight, and a level of mechanical competence of which most high school students are expected to be capable. The standard of writing expected of you in this course goes beyond what gen AI can do on its own.

If it quacks like a duck…

There are many programs that claim to detect AI-generated text, but none of them can do so with 100% accuracy. However, where AI falls short, human intuition prevails. What I simply mean to say is, I know when a student has submitted AI-generated text. This is because I have been reading student writing since long before LLMs came onto the scene. I have accumulated an adequately large sample size of student writing over the years that when non-student writing appears in front of me it is so embarrassingly conspicuous that it may as well have been presented in a different language. So, to repeat, I will know.

*Generative AI WAS NOT used to write this statement

Academic Integrity

UMass Amherst is strongly committed to academic integrity, which is defined as completing all academic work without cheating, lying, stealing, or receiving unauthorized assistance from any other person, or using any source of information not appropriately authorized or attributed. As a community, we hold each other accountable and support each other’s knowledge and understanding of academic integrity. Academic dishonesty is prohibited in all programs of the University and includes but is not limited to: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, lying, and facilitating dishonesty, via analogue and digital means. Sanctions may be imposed on any student who has committed or participated in an academic integrity infraction. Any person who has reason to believe that a student has committed an academic integrity infraction should bring such information to the attention of the appropriate course instructor as soon as possible. All students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have read and acknowledged the Commitment to Academic Integrity and are knowingly responsible for completing all work with integrity and in accordance with the policy: https://www.umass.edu/senate/book/academic-regulations-academic-integrity-policy

Accommodation

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to making reasonable, effective, and appropriate accommodations to meet the needs of students with disabilities and help create a barrier-free campus. If you have a disability and require accommodations, please register with Disability Services, meet with an Access Coordinator in Disability Services, and send your accommodation letter to your faculty. Information on services and registration is available on the Disability Services website: https://www.umass.edu/disability/

Title IX Statement

In accordance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 that prohibits gender-based discrimination in educational settings that receive federal funds, the University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to providing a safe learning environment for all students, free from all forms of discrimination, including sexual assault, sexual harassment, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and retaliation. This includes interactions in person or online through digital platforms and social media. Title IX also protects against discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, or related conditions, including recovery. There are resources here on campus to support you. A summary of the available Title IX resources (confidential and non-confidential) can be found at the following link: https://www.umass.edu/titleix/resources. You do not need to make a formal report to access them. If you need immediate support, you are not alone. Free and confidential support is available 24 hours a day / 7 days a week / 365 days a year at the SASA Hotline: 413-545-0800