{"id":50161,"topic":"ai","source":"Willamette University","title":"New AI minors at Willamette University blend engineering and ethics - Willamette University","url":"https://news.willamette.edu/library/2026/07/ai-minors.html","url_hash":"a705e11b9fd971bcaa92d3b964e453ecd7541445","author":"","summary":"New AI minors at Willamette University blend engineering and ethics Willamette University","content":"Artificial intelligence is no longer confined to computer science labs. It's reshaping public policy, business, healthcare, even art. Willamette University is launching two new minors to help students build it and make sense of it.\nDesigned to flexibly pair with any major, the programs offer two distinct approaches to AI for both technical and non-technical students. The Engineering AI minor dives into the mechanics of building, evaluating, and improving AI systems — focusing on technical concepts like neural networks, computer vision, and software design. The Understanding AI minor examines how AI shapes society, tackling questions of ethics, the nature of intelligence, and the cultural impact of technology through coursework in subjects like philosophy, psychology, and linguistics. Students interested in diving deeper can pursue both minors, gaining a comprehensive understanding of both the “how” and the “why” of AI.\nThe liberal arts advantage in an AI world\nThese new AI minors are just the latest example of Willamette’s multidisciplinary, human-centered approach to technology education. Whether it’s using LEGO robotics to teach elementary students computer science, developing chatbots that empower students in the classroom, or learning to manage AI in organizations, Willamette students are already leveraging AI technologies across the curriculum to turn knowledge into action.\nJameson Watts, Dean of Willamette’s School of Computing & Information Sciences, says that in the age of AI where coding can be done by machine, a liberal arts approach is needed now more than ever. What’s key, Watts says, is going beyond narrow technical skills and instead helping students master the broader critical thinking and tools they need to make decisions about how technology is best used.\n“Software engineers don't write code. How crazy is that?” Watts says. “So what is it that software engineers are doing? They're exercising good judgment.”\nThat’s where Willamette’s new minors shine. Now a Politics, Policy, Law, and Ethics major looking to explore issues of privacy and technology policy can add an Understanding AI minor to their Willamette experience. Likewise, a Chemistry major wanting to utilize neural networks for advanced data analytics will have ample opportunities to dive deeper within the Engineering AI minor.\n“Focusing on good judgment — thinking critically about the impact of different decisions of how things fit together in synergistic or destructive ways — those are the premium skills in the age of AI,” Watts says. “Places like Willamette that have a history of focusing on that kind of thought are a great place to learn how to develop that premium set of skills for the world.”\nEngineering AI: Mastering tools and building systems\nWith the Engineering AI minor, students will gain the hands-on technical foundation needed to design, evaluate, and responsibly deploy modern AI systems. From there, students tailor their learning through specialized electives that mirror the technical capabilities demanded in graduate programs and the modern workforce.\nWhile Computer Science and Data Science majors will feel right at home, the Engineering AI minor is built for broad appeal. Students majoring in Mathematics, Business, or the natural sciences will quickly find practical applications for their own fields.\nCrucially, the minor balances technical skills with rigorous evaluation and ethical responsibility. Throughout their coursework, students will learn to interpret model performance metrics and diagnose critical issues like algorithmic bias, overfitting, and data drift. By the end of the minor, students will be able to evaluate human-centered design principles, manage legal and social risks, and communicate technical concepts clearly to both specialized engineers and non-technical audiences.\nUnderstanding AI: Putting it in perspective\nFor students who are interested in exploring questions about the social, political, and economic implications of AI — all while gaining a broad comprehension of how the technology works — the Understanding AI minor is an ideal fit.\nThe broad focus of the Understanding AI minor is designed to serve students of all backgrounds and interests. Assistant Professor of Computer Science Calvin Deutschbein, who worked with an interdisciplinary group of faculty to put together the minor, says that once students have been exposed to the basics of the technology, they can explore big questions about its impacts.\n“We talk about poetry, film, gender relations, macroeconomics, and life and physical sciences. I sneak in a bit of linear algebra while I hope no one is looking,” Deutschbein says.\nThat interdisciplinary perspective informs everything about the minor. Courses are structured around broad and interconnected themes covering computation, the nature of intelligence, and the intersections of language, technology, and ethics. Students can develop a philosophical foundation for evaluating the thorny questions around AI development by taking Philosophical Ethics, pursue how technology challenges notions of art in the course Music and AI, or explore how AI informs our understanding of human behavior in Cognitive Processes.\nLeading the conversation on AI\nThe interdisciplinary applications of the two minors come together in their keystone course: “AI 101: Understanding AI,” a non-technical survey class exploring how modern AI systems are built as well as the societal costs and benefits of the technologies and their implementation. The course not only dives into the history and theories behind AI technology, but also explores how it changes our understanding of intelligence in the context of other fields and disciplines.\n“Anyone who is curious about AI, tech, or intelligence would have a lot to offer the class, and I think would finish the semester enriched with new insights and perspectives,” says Deutschbein, who is teaching the course this fall. “Having students from across the intellectual breadth of the university means everyone can have a unique perspective and bring insights to enrich the class, and see the relevance of the broader course to their own interests.”\nWatts says that this grounding in AI will give students a leg up in their path after college, no matter their academic interests or career goals.\n“Organizations have always relied on their newest employees to bring them up to speed on how to think about the newest developments in the world,” Watts says. “Right now, those developments are around AI and how AI is impacting every corner of our lived experience. Having that extra bit of understanding when you enter the workforce will set you apart from others who are entering at the same time.”\nWhether they learn to build systems with Engineering AI or ask big questions with Understanding AI, students in either minor will leave Willamette with both the technical grounding and the critical perspective needed to lead in an AI-driven world.","image_url":"https://news.willamette.edu/images/2026/07/ai-feed.webp","lang":"en","published_at":"2026-07-30T23:53:38+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-07-31T01:15:04+00:00","status":"read","starred":0,"extract_state":"ok","summary_auto":"Willamette University is launching two new minors to help students build it and make sense of it. 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It's reshaping public policy, business, healthcare, even art. Willamette University is launching two new minors to help students build it and make sense of it.\nDesigned to flexibly pair with any major, the programs offer two distinct approaches to AI for both technical and non-technical students. The Engineering AI minor dives into the mechanics of building, evaluating, and improving AI systems — focusing on technical concepts like neural networks, computer vision, and software design. The Understanding AI minor examines how AI shapes society, tackling questions of ethics, the nature of intelligence, and the cultural impact of technology through coursework in subjects like philosophy, psychology, and linguistics. Students interested in diving deeper can pursue both minors, gaining a comprehensive understanding of both the “how” and the “why” of AI.\nThe liberal arts advantage in an AI world\nThese new AI minors are just the latest example of Willamette’s multidisciplinary, human-centered approach to technology education. Whether it’s using LEGO robotics to teach elementary students computer science, developing chatbots that empower students in the classroom, or learning to manage AI in organizations, Willamette students are already leveraging AI technologies across the curriculum to turn knowledge into action.\nJameson Watts, Dean of Willamette’s School of Computing & Information Sciences, says that in the age of AI where coding can be done by machine, a liberal arts approach is needed now more than ever. What’s key, Watts says, is going beyond narrow technical skills and instead helping students master the broader critical thinking and tools they need to make decisions about how technology is best used.\n“Software engineers don't write code. How crazy is that?” Watts says. “So what is it that software engineers are doing? They're exercising good judgment.”\nThat’s where Willamette’s new minors shine. Now a Politics, Policy, Law, and Ethics major looking to explore issues of privacy and technology policy can add an Understanding AI minor to their Willamette experience. Likewise, a Chemistry major wanting to utilize neural networks for advanced data analytics will have ample opportunities to dive deeper within the Engineering AI minor.\n“Focusing on good judgment — thinking critically about the impact of different decisions of how things fit together in synergistic or destructive ways — those are the premium skills in the age of AI,” Watts says. “Places like Willamette that have a history of focusing on that kind of thought are a great place to learn how to develop that premium set of skills for the world.”\nEngineering AI: Mastering tools and building systems\nWith the Engineering AI minor, students will gain the hands-on technical foundation needed to design, evaluate, and responsibly deploy modern AI systems. From there, students tailor their learning through specialized electives that mirror the technical capabilities demanded in graduate programs and the modern workforce.\nWhile Computer Science and Data Science majors will feel right at home, the Engineering AI minor is built for broad appeal. Students majoring in Mathematics, Business, or the natural sciences will quickly find practical applications for their own fields.\nCrucially, the minor balances technical skills with rigorous evaluation and ethical responsibility. Throughout their coursework, students will learn to interpret model performance metrics and diagnose critical issues like algorithmic bias, overfitting, and data drift. By the end of the minor, students will be able to evaluate human-centered design principles, manage legal and social risks, and communicate technical concepts clearly to both specialized engineers and non-technical audiences.\nUnderstanding AI: Putting it in perspective\nFor students who are interested in exploring questions about the social, political, and economic implications of AI — all while gaining a broad comprehension of how the technology works — the Understanding AI minor is an ideal fit.\nThe broad focus of the Understanding AI minor is designed to serve students of all backgrounds and interests. Assistant Professor of Computer Science Calvin Deutschbein, who worked with an interdisciplinary group of faculty to put together the minor, says that once students have been exposed to the basics of the technology, they can explore big questions about its impacts.\n“We talk about poetry, film, gender relations, macroeconomics, and life and physical sciences. I sneak in a bit of linear algebra while I hope no one is looking,” Deutschbein says.\nThat interdisciplinary perspective informs everything about the minor. Courses are structured around broad and interconnected themes covering computation, the nature of intelligence, and the intersections of language, technology, and ethics. Students can develop a philosophical foundation for evaluating the thorny questions around AI development by taking Philosophical Ethics, pursue how technology challenges notions of art in the course Music and AI, or explore how AI informs our understanding of human behavior in Cognitive Processes.\nLeading the conversation on AI\nThe interdisciplinary applications of the two minors come together in their keystone course: “AI 101: Understanding AI,” a non-technical survey class exploring how modern AI systems are built as well as the societal costs and benefits of the technologies and their implementation. The course not only dives into the history and theories behind AI technology, but also explores how it changes our understanding of intelligence in the context of other fields and disciplines.\n“Anyone who is curious about AI, tech, or intelligence would have a lot to offer the class, and I think would finish the semester enriched with new insights and perspectives,” says Deutschbein, who is teaching the course this fall. “Having students from across the intellectual breadth of the university means everyone can have a unique perspective and bring insights to enrich the class, and see the relevance of the broader course to their own interests.”\nWatts says that this grounding in AI will give students a leg up in their path after college, no matter their academic interests or career goals.\n“Organizations have always relied on their newest employees to bring them up to speed on how to think about the newest developments in the world,” Watts says. “Right now, those developments are around AI and how AI is impacting every corner of our lived experience. Having that extra bit of understanding when you enter the workforce will set you apart from others who are entering at the same time.”\nWhether they learn to build systems with Engineering AI or ask big questions with Understanding AI, students in either minor will leave Willamette with both the technical grounding and the critical perspective needed to lead in an AI-driven world.","excerpt":"Willamette University is launching two new minors to help students build it and make sense of it. 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Designed to flexibly pair with any major, the programs offer two distinct approaches to AI for both technical and non-technical students.","source":"Willamette University","date":"2026-07-30T23:53:38+00:00","content":"Artificial intelligence is no longer confined to computer science labs. It's reshaping public policy, business, healthcare, even art. Willamette University is launching two new minors to help students build it and make sense of it.\nDesigned to flexibly pair with any major, the programs offer two distinct approaches to AI for both technical and non-technical students. The Engineering AI minor dives into the mechanics of building, evaluating, and improving AI systems — focusing on technical concepts like neural networks, computer vision, and software design. The Understanding AI minor examines how AI shapes society, tackling questions of ethics, the nature of intelligence, and the cultural impact of technology through coursework in subjects like philosophy, psychology, and linguistics. Students interested in diving deeper can pursue both minors, gaining a comprehensive understanding of both the “how” and the “why” of AI.\nThe liberal arts advantage in an AI world\nThese new AI minors are just the latest example of Willamette’s multidisciplinary, human-centered approach to technology education. Whether it’s using LEGO robotics to teach elementary students computer science, developing chatbots that empower students in the classroom, or learning to manage AI in organizations, Willamette students are already leveraging AI technologies across the curriculum to turn knowledge into action.\nJameson Watts, Dean of Willamette’s School of Computing & Information Sciences, says that in the age of AI where coding can be done by machine, a liberal arts approach is needed now more than ever. What’s key, Watts says, is going beyond narrow technical skills and instead helping students master the broader critical thinking and tools they need to make decisions about how technology is best used.\n“Software engineers don't write code. How crazy is that?” Watts says. “So what is it that software engineers are doing? They're exercising good judgment.”\nThat’s where Willamette’s new minors shine. Now a Politics, Policy, Law, and Ethics major looking to explore issues of privacy and technology policy can add an Understanding AI minor to their Willamette experience. Likewise, a Chemistry major wanting to utilize neural networks for advanced data analytics will have ample opportunities to dive deeper within the Engineering AI minor.\n“Focusing on good judgment — thinking critically about the impact of different decisions of how things fit together in synergistic or destructive ways — those are the premium skills in the age of AI,” Watts says. “Places like Willamette that have a history of focusing on that kind of thought are a great place to learn how to develop that premium set of skills for the world.”\nEngineering AI: Mastering tools and building systems\nWith the Engineering AI minor, students will gain the hands-on technical foundation needed to design, evaluate, and responsibly deploy modern AI systems. From there, students tailor their learning through specialized electives that mirror the technical capabilities demanded in graduate programs and the modern workforce.\nWhile Computer Science and Data Science majors will feel right at home, the Engineering AI minor is built for broad appeal. Students majoring in Mathematics, Business, or the natural sciences will quickly find practical applications for their own fields.\nCrucially, the minor balances technical skills with rigorous evaluation and ethical responsibility. Throughout their coursework, students will learn to interpret model performance metrics and diagnose critical issues like algorithmic bias, overfitting, and data drift. By the end of the minor, students will be able to evaluate human-centered design principles, manage legal and social risks, and communicate technical concepts clearly to both specialized engineers and non-technical audiences.\nUnderstanding AI: Putting it in perspective\nFor students who are interested in exploring questions about the social, political, and economic implications of AI — all while gaining a broad comprehension of how the technology works — the Understanding AI minor is an ideal fit.\nThe broad focus of the Understanding AI minor is designed to serve students of all backgrounds and interests. Assistant Professor of Computer Science Calvin Deutschbein, who worked with an interdisciplinary group of faculty to put together the minor, says that once students have been exposed to the basics of the technology, they can explore big questions about its impacts.\n“We talk about poetry, film, gender relations, macroeconomics, and life and physical sciences. I sneak in a bit of linear algebra while I hope no one is looking,” Deutschbein says.\nThat interdisciplinary perspective informs everything about the minor. Courses are structured around broad and interconnected themes covering computation, the nature of intelligence, and the intersections of language, technology, and ethics. Students can develop a philosophical foundation for evaluating the thorny questions around AI development by taking Philosophical Ethics, pursue how technology challenges notions of art in the course Music and AI, or explore how AI informs our understanding of human behavior in Cognitive Processes.\nLeading the conversation on AI\nThe interdisciplinary applications of the two minors come together in their keystone course: “AI 101: Understanding AI,” a non-technical survey class exploring how modern AI systems are built as well as the societal costs and benefits of the technologies and their implementation. The course not only dives into the history and theories behind AI technology, but also explores how it changes our understanding of intelligence in the context of other fields and disciplines.\n“Anyone who is curious about AI, tech, or intelligence would have a lot to offer the class, and I think would finish the semester enriched with new insights and perspectives,” says Deutschbein, who is teaching the course this fall. “Having students from across the intellectual breadth of the university means everyone can have a unique perspective and bring insights to enrich the class, and see the relevance of the broader course to their own interests.”\nWatts says that this grounding in AI will give students a leg up in their path after college, no matter their academic interests or career goals.\n“Organizations have always relied on their newest employees to bring them up to speed on how to think about the newest developments in the world,” Watts says. “Right now, those developments are around AI and how AI is impacting every corner of our lived experience. Having that extra bit of understanding when you enter the workforce will set you apart from others who are entering at the same time.”\nWhether they learn to build systems with Engineering AI or ask big questions with Understanding AI, students in either minor will leave Willamette with both the technical grounding and the critical perspective needed to lead in an AI-driven world.","confidence":0.9,"diagnostics_url":"/api/diagnose?url=https%3A//news.willamette.edu/library/2026/07/ai-minors.html","quality_bucket":"high","failure_kind":"none","retryable":false,"quality_reason":"High confidence: full text extraction produced 6977 characters.","quality_profile":{"profile_version":"extraction_quality.v2","bucket":"high","confidence":0.9,"failure_kind":"none","retryable":false,"retry_after_attempts":0,"reason":"High confidence: full text extraction produced 6977 characters.","operator_guidance":{"severity":"ok","recommended_action":"trust_full_text","next_step":"Use the extracted full text as the primary article source.","operator_label":"Ready","can_retry":false,"can_use_summary":false,"diagnostics_required":false},"content_depth":{"contract_version":"content_depth.v1","category":"full_text","label":"Full text","has_full_text":true,"has_summary":true,"content_length":6977,"summary_length":235,"usable_text_length":6977,"source_field":"content"},"legacy_collapsed":false,"signals":{"extract_state":"ok","extract_error":null,"extract_retries":0,"content_length":6977,"summary_length":235}},"tags":[]},"fallback_formats":["markdown","json","html"],"actions":{"read":"/item/50161","export_markdown":"/api/items/50161/export?format=markdown","export_json":"/api/items/50161/export?format=json","diagnose":"/api/diagnose?url=https%3A//news.willamette.edu/library/2026/07/ai-minors.html"},"formats":{"full":{"id":50161,"title":"New AI minors at Willamette University blend engineering and ethics - Willamette University","url":"https://news.willamette.edu/library/2026/07/ai-minors.html","source":"Willamette University","author":null,"published_at":"2026-07-30T23:53:38+00:00","locale":"en","topic":"ai","tags":[],"excerpt":"Willamette University is launching two new minors to help students build it and make sense of it. Designed to flexibly pair with any major, the programs offer two distinct approaches to AI for both technical and non-technical students.","full_text":"Artificial intelligence is no longer confined to computer science labs. It's reshaping public policy, business, healthcare, even art. Willamette University is launching two new minors to help students build it and make sense of it.\nDesigned to flexibly pair with any major, the programs offer two distinct approaches to AI for both technical and non-technical students. The Engineering AI minor dives into the mechanics of building, evaluating, and improving AI systems — focusing on technical concepts like neural networks, computer vision, and software design. The Understanding AI minor examines how AI shapes society, tackling questions of ethics, the nature of intelligence, and the cultural impact of technology through coursework in subjects like philosophy, psychology, and linguistics. Students interested in diving deeper can pursue both minors, gaining a comprehensive understanding of both the “how” and the “why” of AI.\nThe liberal arts advantage in an AI world\nThese new AI minors are just the latest example of Willamette’s multidisciplinary, human-centered approach to technology education. Whether it’s using LEGO robotics to teach elementary students computer science, developing chatbots that empower students in the classroom, or learning to manage AI in organizations, Willamette students are already leveraging AI technologies across the curriculum to turn knowledge into action.\nJameson Watts, Dean of Willamette’s School of Computing & Information Sciences, says that in the age of AI where coding can be done by machine, a liberal arts approach is needed now more than ever. What’s key, Watts says, is going beyond narrow technical skills and instead helping students master the broader critical thinking and tools they need to make decisions about how technology is best used.\n“Software engineers don't write code. How crazy is that?” Watts says. “So what is it that software engineers are doing? They're exercising good judgment.”\nThat’s where Willamette’s new minors shine. Now a Politics, Policy, Law, and Ethics major looking to explore issues of privacy and technology policy can add an Understanding AI minor to their Willamette experience. Likewise, a Chemistry major wanting to utilize neural networks for advanced data analytics will have ample opportunities to dive deeper within the Engineering AI minor.\n“Focusing on good judgment — thinking critically about the impact of different decisions of how things fit together in synergistic or destructive ways — those are the premium skills in the age of AI,” Watts says. “Places like Willamette that have a history of focusing on that kind of thought are a great place to learn how to develop that premium set of skills for the world.”\nEngineering AI: Mastering tools and building systems\nWith the Engineering AI minor, students will gain the hands-on technical foundation needed to design, evaluate, and responsibly deploy modern AI systems. From there, students tailor their learning through specialized electives that mirror the technical capabilities demanded in graduate programs and the modern workforce.\nWhile Computer Science and Data Science majors will feel right at home, the Engineering AI minor is built for broad appeal. Students majoring in Mathematics, Business, or the natural sciences will quickly find practical applications for their own fields.\nCrucially, the minor balances technical skills with rigorous evaluation and ethical responsibility. Throughout their coursework, students will learn to interpret model performance metrics and diagnose critical issues like algorithmic bias, overfitting, and data drift. By the end of the minor, students will be able to evaluate human-centered design principles, manage legal and social risks, and communicate technical concepts clearly to both specialized engineers and non-technical audiences.\nUnderstanding AI: Putting it in perspective\nFor students who are interested in exploring questions about the social, political, and economic implications of AI — all while gaining a broad comprehension of how the technology works — the Understanding AI minor is an ideal fit.\nThe broad focus of the Understanding AI minor is designed to serve students of all backgrounds and interests. Assistant Professor of Computer Science Calvin Deutschbein, who worked with an interdisciplinary group of faculty to put together the minor, says that once students have been exposed to the basics of the technology, they can explore big questions about its impacts.\n“We talk about poetry, film, gender relations, macroeconomics, and life and physical sciences. I sneak in a bit of linear algebra while I hope no one is looking,” Deutschbein says.\nThat interdisciplinary perspective informs everything about the minor. Courses are structured around broad and interconnected themes covering computation, the nature of intelligence, and the intersections of language, technology, and ethics. Students can develop a philosophical foundation for evaluating the thorny questions around AI development by taking Philosophical Ethics, pursue how technology challenges notions of art in the course Music and AI, or explore how AI informs our understanding of human behavior in Cognitive Processes.\nLeading the conversation on AI\nThe interdisciplinary applications of the two minors come together in their keystone course: “AI 101: Understanding AI,” a non-technical survey class exploring how modern AI systems are built as well as the societal costs and benefits of the technologies and their implementation. The course not only dives into the history and theories behind AI technology, but also explores how it changes our understanding of intelligence in the context of other fields and disciplines.\n“Anyone who is curious about AI, tech, or intelligence would have a lot to offer the class, and I think would finish the semester enriched with new insights and perspectives,” says Deutschbein, who is teaching the course this fall. “Having students from across the intellectual breadth of the university means everyone can have a unique perspective and bring insights to enrich the class, and see the relevance of the broader course to their own interests.”\nWatts says that this grounding in AI will give students a leg up in their path after college, no matter their academic interests or career goals.\n“Organizations have always relied on their newest employees to bring them up to speed on how to think about the newest developments in the world,” Watts says. “Right now, those developments are around AI and how AI is impacting every corner of our lived experience. Having that extra bit of understanding when you enter the workforce will set you apart from others who are entering at the same time.”\nWhether they learn to build systems with Engineering AI or ask big questions with Understanding AI, students in either minor will leave Willamette with both the technical grounding and the critical perspective needed to lead in an AI-driven world.","reading_time_min":5,"extraction":{"state":"ok","confidence":0.9,"error":null,"explanation":"High confidence: full text extraction produced 6977 characters.","diagnostics_url":"/api/diagnose?url=https%3A//news.willamette.edu/library/2026/07/ai-minors.html","quality_profile":{"profile_version":"extraction_quality.v2","bucket":"high","confidence":0.9,"failure_kind":"none","retryable":false,"retry_after_attempts":0,"reason":"High confidence: full text extraction produced 6977 characters.","operator_guidance":{"severity":"ok","recommended_action":"trust_full_text","next_step":"Use the extracted full text as the primary article source.","operator_label":"Ready","can_retry":false,"can_use_summary":false,"diagnostics_required":false},"content_depth":{"contract_version":"content_depth.v1","category":"full_text","label":"Full text","has_full_text":true,"has_summary":true,"content_length":6977,"summary_length":235,"usable_text_length":6977,"source_field":"content"},"legacy_collapsed":false,"signals":{"extract_state":"ok","extract_error":null,"extract_retries":0,"content_length":6977,"summary_length":235}}},"quality_profile":{"profile_version":"extraction_quality.v2","bucket":"high","confidence":0.9,"failure_kind":"none","retryable":false,"retry_after_attempts":0,"reason":"High confidence: full text extraction produced 6977 characters.","operator_guidance":{"severity":"ok","recommended_action":"trust_full_text","next_step":"Use the extracted full text as the primary article source.","operator_label":"Ready","can_retry":false,"can_use_summary":false,"diagnostics_required":false},"content_depth":{"contract_version":"content_depth.v1","category":"full_text","label":"Full text","has_full_text":true,"has_summary":true,"content_length":6977,"summary_length":235,"usable_text_length":6977,"source_field":"content"},"legacy_collapsed":false,"signals":{"extract_state":"ok","extract_error":null,"extract_retries":0,"content_length":6977,"summary_length":235}},"actions":{"read":"/item/50161","export_markdown":"/api/items/50161/export?format=markdown","export_json":"/api/items/50161/export?format=json","diagnose":"/api/diagnose?url=https%3A//news.willamette.edu/library/2026/07/ai-minors.html"}},"digest":{"id":50161,"title":"New AI minors at Willamette University blend engineering and ethics - Willamette University","url":"https://news.willamette.edu/library/2026/07/ai-minors.html","source":"Willamette University","topic":"ai","published_at":"2026-07-30T23:53:38+00:00","excerpt":"Willamette University is launching two new minors to help students build it and make sense of it. Designed to flexibly pair with any major, the programs offer two distinct approaches to AI for both technical and non-technical students.","quality_bucket":"high","quality_reason":"High confidence: full text extraction produced 6977 characters.","reading_time_min":5,"cluster_id":1669803},"card":{"display_title":"New AI minors at Willamette University blend engineering and ethics - Willamette University","subtitle":"Willamette University · 2026-07-30","summary":"Willamette University is launching two new minors to help students build it and make sense of it. Designed to flexibly pair with any major, the programs offer two distinct approaches to AI for both technical and…","badges":["quality:high"],"links":{"read":"/item/50161","original":"https://news.willamette.edu/library/2026/07/ai-minors.html","diagnose":"/api/diagnose?url=https%3A//news.willamette.edu/library/2026/07/ai-minors.html"},"quality_warning":null},"export":{"title":"New AI minors at Willamette University blend engineering and ethics - Willamette University","url":"https://news.willamette.edu/library/2026/07/ai-minors.html","summary":"Willamette University is launching two new minors to help students build it and make sense of it. Designed to flexibly pair with any major, the programs offer two distinct approaches to AI for both technical and non-technical students.","source":"Willamette University","date":"2026-07-30T23:53:38+00:00","content":"Artificial intelligence is no longer confined to computer science labs. It's reshaping public policy, business, healthcare, even art. Willamette University is launching two new minors to help students build it and make sense of it.\nDesigned to flexibly pair with any major, the programs offer two distinct approaches to AI for both technical and non-technical students. The Engineering AI minor dives into the mechanics of building, evaluating, and improving AI systems — focusing on technical concepts like neural networks, computer vision, and software design. The Understanding AI minor examines how AI shapes society, tackling questions of ethics, the nature of intelligence, and the cultural impact of technology through coursework in subjects like philosophy, psychology, and linguistics. Students interested in diving deeper can pursue both minors, gaining a comprehensive understanding of both the “how” and the “why” of AI.\nThe liberal arts advantage in an AI world\nThese new AI minors are just the latest example of Willamette’s multidisciplinary, human-centered approach to technology education. Whether it’s using LEGO robotics to teach elementary students computer science, developing chatbots that empower students in the classroom, or learning to manage AI in organizations, Willamette students are already leveraging AI technologies across the curriculum to turn knowledge into action.\nJameson Watts, Dean of Willamette’s School of Computing & Information Sciences, says that in the age of AI where coding can be done by machine, a liberal arts approach is needed now more than ever. What’s key, Watts says, is going beyond narrow technical skills and instead helping students master the broader critical thinking and tools they need to make decisions about how technology is best used.\n“Software engineers don't write code. How crazy is that?” Watts says. “So what is it that software engineers are doing? They're exercising good judgment.”\nThat’s where Willamette’s new minors shine. Now a Politics, Policy, Law, and Ethics major looking to explore issues of privacy and technology policy can add an Understanding AI minor to their Willamette experience. Likewise, a Chemistry major wanting to utilize neural networks for advanced data analytics will have ample opportunities to dive deeper within the Engineering AI minor.\n“Focusing on good judgment — thinking critically about the impact of different decisions of how things fit together in synergistic or destructive ways — those are the premium skills in the age of AI,” Watts says. “Places like Willamette that have a history of focusing on that kind of thought are a great place to learn how to develop that premium set of skills for the world.”\nEngineering AI: Mastering tools and building systems\nWith the Engineering AI minor, students will gain the hands-on technical foundation needed to design, evaluate, and responsibly deploy modern AI systems. From there, students tailor their learning through specialized electives that mirror the technical capabilities demanded in graduate programs and the modern workforce.\nWhile Computer Science and Data Science majors will feel right at home, the Engineering AI minor is built for broad appeal. Students majoring in Mathematics, Business, or the natural sciences will quickly find practical applications for their own fields.\nCrucially, the minor balances technical skills with rigorous evaluation and ethical responsibility. Throughout their coursework, students will learn to interpret model performance metrics and diagnose critical issues like algorithmic bias, overfitting, and data drift. By the end of the minor, students will be able to evaluate human-centered design principles, manage legal and social risks, and communicate technical concepts clearly to both specialized engineers and non-technical audiences.\nUnderstanding AI: Putting it in perspective\nFor students who are interested in exploring questions about the social, political, and economic implications of AI — all while gaining a broad comprehension of how the technology works — the Understanding AI minor is an ideal fit.\nThe broad focus of the Understanding AI minor is designed to serve students of all backgrounds and interests. Assistant Professor of Computer Science Calvin Deutschbein, who worked with an interdisciplinary group of faculty to put together the minor, says that once students have been exposed to the basics of the technology, they can explore big questions about its impacts.\n“We talk about poetry, film, gender relations, macroeconomics, and life and physical sciences. I sneak in a bit of linear algebra while I hope no one is looking,” Deutschbein says.\nThat interdisciplinary perspective informs everything about the minor. Courses are structured around broad and interconnected themes covering computation, the nature of intelligence, and the intersections of language, technology, and ethics. Students can develop a philosophical foundation for evaluating the thorny questions around AI development by taking Philosophical Ethics, pursue how technology challenges notions of art in the course Music and AI, or explore how AI informs our understanding of human behavior in Cognitive Processes.\nLeading the conversation on AI\nThe interdisciplinary applications of the two minors come together in their keystone course: “AI 101: Understanding AI,” a non-technical survey class exploring how modern AI systems are built as well as the societal costs and benefits of the technologies and their implementation. The course not only dives into the history and theories behind AI technology, but also explores how it changes our understanding of intelligence in the context of other fields and disciplines.\n“Anyone who is curious about AI, tech, or intelligence would have a lot to offer the class, and I think would finish the semester enriched with new insights and perspectives,” says Deutschbein, who is teaching the course this fall. “Having students from across the intellectual breadth of the university means everyone can have a unique perspective and bring insights to enrich the class, and see the relevance of the broader course to their own interests.”\nWatts says that this grounding in AI will give students a leg up in their path after college, no matter their academic interests or career goals.\n“Organizations have always relied on their newest employees to bring them up to speed on how to think about the newest developments in the world,” Watts says. “Right now, those developments are around AI and how AI is impacting every corner of our lived experience. Having that extra bit of understanding when you enter the workforce will set you apart from others who are entering at the same time.”\nWhether they learn to build systems with Engineering AI or ask big questions with Understanding AI, students in either minor will leave Willamette with both the technical grounding and the critical perspective needed to lead in an AI-driven world.","confidence":0.9,"diagnostics_url":"/api/diagnose?url=https%3A//news.willamette.edu/library/2026/07/ai-minors.html","quality_bucket":"high","failure_kind":"none","retryable":false,"quality_reason":"High confidence: full text extraction produced 6977 characters.","quality_profile":{"profile_version":"extraction_quality.v2","bucket":"high","confidence":0.9,"failure_kind":"none","retryable":false,"retry_after_attempts":0,"reason":"High confidence: full text extraction produced 6977 characters.","operator_guidance":{"severity":"ok","recommended_action":"trust_full_text","next_step":"Use the extracted full text as the primary article source.","operator_label":"Ready","can_retry":false,"can_use_summary":false,"diagnostics_required":false},"content_depth":{"contract_version":"content_depth.v1","category":"full_text","label":"Full text","has_full_text":true,"has_summary":true,"content_length":6977,"summary_length":235,"usable_text_length":6977,"source_field":"content"},"legacy_collapsed":false,"signals":{"extract_state":"ok","extract_error":null,"extract_retries":0,"content_length":6977,"summary_length":235}},"tags":[],"format_contract_version":"news_item_formats.v1"}}}