Artificial intelligence has become an increasingly common subject in Penn courses, with classes across disciplines examining the technology and its implications.
The Daily Pennsylvanian analyzed over 1,000 courses that contain the keywords “AI,” “artificial intelligence,” or “machine learning” between fall 2022 and spring 2027 — the last five academic years since the boom in generative AI. The review identified trends in course offerings by school, department, and course level, as well as enrollment and registration restrictions.
Courses containing the keyword “AI” saw a particularly sharp increase, rising from five in fall 2022 to 61 in spring 2027 — a 1,120% increase. The Annenberg School for Communication researcher and lecturer Matthew O’Donnell attributed this increase in part to the broader discourse surrounding AI.
“Most disciplines are wanting to reflect on what is currently relevant in culture,” O’Donnell said in an interview. “Since November 2022, the current generation of generative AI has become increasingly central in debate and in people’s everyday life.”
English professor James English suggested the jump may also reflect changes to existing course descriptions, rathe...