Work in progress — A biomedical motif for teaching Artificial Intelligence in Context

The majority of the classes in a typical computer science program focus on the computer as an entity and the resulting development infrastructure. Examples include hardware principles, architecture and theory, along with software development tools and processes. Recent studies have suggested that a focus on the computational infrastructure in the absence of an external application domain may reinforce the stereotype of CS student fixation on the computer for some, while alienating a subset of students, especially women, who may be attracted to using the computer to solve broader problems. Recognizing this situation has inspired recent explorations on teaching computer science within an application context. Even classes traditionally focused on techniques and problems beyond the computer itself, such as Computer Graphics and Artificial Intelligence (AI), are often presented as a collection of techniques, programs, and principles without systematic "real-world" grounding. Inspired by work on teaching Computer Graphics in context, this work-in-progress describes an infrastructure for embedding a biomedical motif into the traditional Artificial Intelligence course.