Artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly across many domains, including science, business, and public policy. This course offers a data-driven introduction to how AI is evolving globally, grounded in insights from the AI Index Report, Stanford HAI’s independent annual assessment of worldwide AI trends.

Students examine how advances in technical performance intersect with investment patterns, workforce transformation, energy use, and emerging governance frameworks. Rather than focusing on speculation, the course emphasizes measurable indicators of where AI adoption is accelerating, where risks and gaps persist, and how institutional and policy choices shape outcomes.

Topics include global investment and compute concentration, labor and productivity effects, safety benchmarks, incidents, and the evolving regulatory landscape across regions. Drawing on data, case studies, and expert perspectives, the course equips participants to critically interpret AI claims and engage thoughtfully with the decisions shaping its future.

Students can choose to attend this course on campus or online. Sign up for Section H if you think you might attend class on the Stanford campus at least once. There is no commitment—you can still choose to attend via Zoom for any session. Sign up for Section Z if you know you will exclusively attend via Zoom.