Look no further for the tools that are changing our everyday experiences today and tomorrow. AI won’t necessarily replace human communicators, but communicators who skillfully leverage AI will replace those who don’t. This intensive lab at UC Santa Barbara positions high-performing students at the forefront of this shift. Through hands-on workshops, students will experiment with the same AI tools professionals use in journalism, marketing and content creation, always examining both creative possibilities and ethical complications.

This isn’t passive learning; it’s active experimentation. Students will test AI writing assistants, image generators, and video tools while grappling with critical questions: What stories can AI help us tell? What biases does it amplify? How do we fact-check AI content? Where does AI excel, and where does it fail? Who benefits, and who might be harmed?

AI Lab focuses specifically on communication, how artificial intelligence is reshaping storytelling, persuasion and media. Students will learn to prompt effectively, iterate thoughtfully, and evaluate outputs critically. They’ll explore real-world scenarios involving authorship, fairness, and privacy, developing the sophisticated judgment that distinguishes leaders from followers.

Blending design thinking, communication strategy, and ethical reasoning, this course equips students with skills future innovators need: the ability to create responsibly, question intelligently, and communicate complex ideas with clarity and confidence. By the end of this intensive, participants will not only have hands-on experience with AI as a creative and analytical tool , they’ll understand how to lead conversations about its impact on business, media, and society.