Trond Petersen
UC Berkeley professor whose work spans organizations, economic sociology, inequality, comparative studies, and quantitative methods.
Berkeley + IE University · Course workspace
Your ideas.
Your intelligence.
Your next build.
Welcome to [YOU] on AI + X. This is your home for class materials, upcoming work, and the project you’ll build along the way.
Fall 2026 / Class sessions
Our learning journey.
Session dates, modules, and topics for [YOU] on AI + X.
Class times: Mondays and Wednesdays at 9:30 AM Berkeley (Pacific Time) / 6:30 PM Madrid, for approximately 90 minutes.
Daylight-saving exception: On October 26 and 28, class starts at 5:30 PM Madrid; Berkeley remains at 9:30 AM. Madrid returns to 6:30 PM from November 2. See the schedule below for holiday breaks.
| Date | Module / Session | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| Wed, Oct 14 | Module 1 — Session 1 | Entering the AI Era — Purpose, Amplification, and Thinking with AI |
| Mon, Oct 19 | Module 1 — Session 2 | AI as Cognitive Partner: Prompt Dialogue, Judgment & Shared Work |
| Wed, Oct 21 | Module 2 — Session 1 | Signal Quality — Better Questions, Better Evidence, Better AI |
| Mon, Oct 26 | Module 2 — Session 2 | Trusted Context, Research Pipelines & RAG |
| Wed, Oct 28 | Module 3 — Session 1 | Evidence-Aware AI — From Claims to Verifiable Intelligence |
| Mon, Nov 2 | Module 3 — Session 2 | From Prompts to Workflows, Agents & AI Systems |
| Wed, Nov 4 | Module 4 — Session 1 | Human Authorship — Purpose, Co-Creation, and Accountability |
| Mon, Nov 9 | Module 4 — Session 2 | Building the AI Factory: Agents, Handoffs & Human Decisions |
| Wed, Nov 11 | — | Berkeley Holiday — No Class |
| Mon, Nov 16 | Module 5 — Session 1 | Friction, Scope, and Buildable Value |
| Wed, Nov 18 | Module 5 — Session 2 | Evaluation Loops: Test, Learn, Improve |
| Nov 23–27 | — | Thanksgiving Week — No Class |
| Mon, Nov 30 | Module 6 — Session 1 | Responsible Direction — Power, Governance, and Human Control |
| Wed, Dec 2 | Module 6 — Session 2 | Observability, Guardrails, Permissions & AI Governance |
| Mon, Dec 7 | Modules 7 + 8 — Synthesis | Attention, Trust & Deployment → Orchestrating Intelligence |
Holiday calendars vary across countries. When holidays affect participation, we will offer flexibility through session recordings and assignment deadline extensions.
A beginner’s guide to start experimenting with [You] on AI + X.
Download You on AI + X Cookbook ↓Stay connected
Need a hand?
Watch for email from you-aix-f26@synth.groups.io and reply to the group from the email account you registered with.
Acceptance into this course automatically includes invitations to online Synthesis events, including virtual coffee sessions with technology leaders, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurial faculty.
Learn more about Synthesis: Synthesis →
Background / The course
[YOU] on AI + X
Learn to frame and direct intelligence, apply human judgment, and build an AI-powered venture, research project, or media art project. Berkeley and IE University students collaborate across disciplines in an eight-week shared experience.
Offered by
Faculty and builders spanning AI, engineering, entrepreneurship, and technology leadership.
Edo Segal
CTO of Napster and serial entrepreneur focused on AI, human communication, interactive media, and products that make expertise easier to access.
Ikhlaq Sidhu
Dean & Professor, IE School of Science & Technology; CITRIS Senior Fellow; Founder of SCET, CFI, and ELPP.
Alex Bayen
Director, CITRIS. UC Berkeley professor and Liao-Cho Innovation Endowed Chair working across control, optimization, machine learning, and large-scale mobility systems.