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Social and Human Interaction with AI

Code: 108609
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Bachelor in Artificial Intelligence OB 3

Contact lecturer

Name :
Nuria Valles Peris
Email :
nuria.valles@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Joan Moya Kohler
Oriol Barat Auleda
Miquel Domenech Argemi

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

No

Objectives

The main objective of the course is to provide basic and transversal training in the fundamental knowledge of psychology and social psychology, essential for a specialist in artificial intelligence. The content of the subject focuses on the fundamentals of social interaction.

Specifically, the objectives are:

  • To provide tools and methodologies to design and implement autonomous cyber-physical agents and systems that interact effectively with people and other agents in open environments.
  • To introduce solid conceptual frameworks that allow the identification and understanding of the psychosocial concepts and processes that explain social interaction between people.
  • To provide resources to recognize and apply key factors in human-machine interaction, such as usability, cognitive ergonomics, and accessibility.
  • To introduce and promote the application of evaluation techniques for devices to ensure their usability, accessibility, and effectiveness in social interaction.

Learning outcomes

  • CM09 (Propose alternatives for the design of artificial intelligence applications that avoid individual and social inequalities based on knowledge of human cognitive patterns and social interaction.) Propose alternatives for the design of artificial intelligence applications that avoid individual and social inequalities based on knowledge of human cognitive patterns and social interaction.
  • CM10 (Integrate concepts related to social interaction in the design of the human-machine interface in artificial intelligence devices.) Integrate concepts related to social interaction in the design of the human-machine interface in artificial intelligence devices.
  • CM11 (Integrate knowledge of biases derived from human cognitive and social processes in project management and development to ensure an equitable and non-discriminatory contribution from all team members.) Integrate knowledge of biases derived from human cognitive and social processes in project management and development to ensure an equitable and non-discriminatory contribution from all team members.
  • KM28 (Identify the psychosocial concepts and processes that allow the understanding and explanation of social interaction between people as a basis for the design of human-machine interaction.) Identify the psychosocial concepts and processes that allow the understanding and explanation of social interaction between people as a basis for the design of human-machine interaction.
  • SM30 (Identify thinking biases and heuristics and their influence on decision-making and the design of machine learning algorithms.) Identify thinking biases and heuristics and their influence on decision-making and the design of machine learning algorithms.

Contents

  • Introduction to Human-Machine Interaction and Social Psychology
  • Social Perception and Usability in Human-Machine Interaction
  • Attribution Processes in Human-Machine Interaction
  • Culture and Social Cognition in Human-Machine Interaction
  • Prejudices and Stereotypes in Human-Machine Interaction
  • Social Influence and Technology
  • Disability and Accessibility in Human-Machine Interaction
  • Social Robotics and Caregiving
  • Human-Centered Design
  • Evaluation of Technologies from a Human-Machine Interaction Perspective

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Book Reading 10 0.4 KM28, SM30
Information Search 10 0.4 CM09, CM10, CM11, KM28, SM30
Individual Work 55 2.2 CM09, CM10, CM11, KM28, SM30
Case Study Analisis 24 0.96 CM09, CM10, CM11, KM28, SM30
Group Work 15 0.6 CM09, CM10, CM11, KM28, SM30
Tutorship 4 0.16 CM09, CM10, CM11, KM28, SM30
Theoretical Context 26 1.04 CM10, CM11, KM28, SM30

1- Problem-solving/case studies/exercises:

  • Practical challenges.
  • Problems, cases, exercises.

2- Cooperative learning and peer evaluation:

  • Teamwork: Work groups will be formed to foster collaborative learning, where students share knowledge and skills.

3- Lectures:

  • Inspiring Sessions: Theoretical classes will be designed to be inspiring, using current examples and relevant case studies.
  • Dynamic Interaction: Active participation will be encouraged through debates and discussions in class, facilitating deeper and more meaningful learning.

4- Tutorials:

  • Personalized Guidance: Group tutorial sessions will be offered to provide personalized guidance, resolve doubts, and support project development.
  • Continuous Mentoring: Tutors will act as mentors, guiding students through the learning process and helping them overcome obstacles.
Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Final assessment 35% 2 0.08 CM10, CM11, KM28, SM30
Final deliverable of the group work 30% 2 0.08 CM09, CM10, CM11, KM28, SM30
Oral presentation of the final work 15% 0.5 0.02 CM09, CM10, CM11, KM28, SM30
Evaluation on the reading of a book for the state of the art 20% 1.5 0.06 KM28, SM30

There will be 4 pieces of evidence for evaluation:

  1. Evaluation on the reading of a book for the state of the art (SoA).
  2. Final deliverable of the group work (FD).
  3. Oral presentation of the final work (OP).
  4. Final evaluation test (FE).

The final grade will be the result of applying the following formula: FINAL GRADE = SoA0.20 + FD30 + OP0.15 + FE0.35

To pass, it will be necessary for the evaluation of each piece of evidence to exceed the minimum required (5) and for the total evaluation to exceed 5 points. If the course is not passed, the numerical grade in the record will be the lower value between 4.5 and the weighted average of the grades.

There is no option for a single evaluation.

Positive contributions to discussions will round up the grade decimals. To qualify for honors, it is necessary to have had a participative attitude in class discussions. Honors will be granted globally, resulting from calculating five percent or a fraction of the students enrolled in all teaching groups of the course. They can only be awarded to students who have obtained a final grade of 9 or higher.

Late submissions, as long as there is prior notice, will be accepted and penalized with a lower grade. Under no circumstances will late submissions be accepted without prior notice or justification of force majeure. A second submission period may be opened for reports that receive a negative evaluation. Unsubmitted work will receive a grade of 0 and will not have a second evaluation option. Repeat students can validate the parts passed in previous years.

Failure to attend the final exam (EF) implies a "Not evaluable" in the records.

The final exam can be recovered with a second exam.

All exams will be adjusted according to the school's schedule.

The dates of continuous evaluation and submission of work will be published on the Caronte website (http://caronte.uab.es) and may be subject to scheduling changes due to adaptation to possible incidents. Changes will always be informed on the Caronte website, as it is understood that the Caronte website is the usual mechanism for exchanging information between teachers and students.

For each evaluation activity, a place, date, and time of review will be indicated where the student can review the activity with the teacher. In this context, claims about the grade of the activity can be made, which will be evaluated by the faculty responsible for the subject. If the student does not attend this review, this activity will not be reviewed later.

Without prejudice to other disciplinary measures that are deemed appropriate, and in accordance with current academic regulations, irregularities committed by the student that may lead to a variation in the grade of an evaluation act will be graded with zero. Therefore, plagiarizing, copying, or letting others copy n activity or any other evaluation activity will result in a fail with a zero and cannot be recovered in the same academic year. If this activity has a minimum associated grade, then the subject will be failed.

This subject allows the use of AI technologies as an integral part of the submitted work, provided that the final result reflects a significant contribution from the student in terms of analysis and personal reflection.

The student must clearly (i) identify which parts have been generated using AI technology; (ii) specify the tools used; and (iii) include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and final outcome of the activity.

Lack of transparency regarding the use of AI in the assessed activity will be considered academic dishonesty; the corresponding grade may be lowered, or the work may even be awarded a zero. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.

Bibliography

Suchman, Lucy. Plans and Situated Actions: The Problem of Human-Machine Communication. Cambridge University Press, 1987.

Lupton, Deborah. The Quantified Self: A Sociology of Self-Tracking. Polity, 2016.

Crawford, Kate. Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence. Yale University Press, 2021.

Norman, Donald A. The Design of Everyday Things. Basic Books, 2013.


Software

No

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE