Foundations of Social Intelligence

This unit establishes foundational concepts in artificial social intelligence, the history and mechanics of social engineering, and the psychology behind persuasion, propaganda, advertising, and cybercrime. Students will examine landmark ideas (e.g., the Turing Test), learn how semblances of social intelligence are weaponized by bots and human actors, and prepare to apply defensive and ethical frameworks in subsequent units.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze the historical and theoretical foundations of artificial social intelligence and social engineering (e.g., Turing Test, Positronic Man) by distinguishing between genuine cognition and the semblance of social intelligence in multiple examples
• Evaluate psychological principles and persuasive techniques used in social engineering, advertising, propaganda, and cybercrime by identifying tactics and mapping them to cognitive biases and influence strategies in case studies
• Apply detection and assessment criteria to recognize AI-driven deception and social engineering attempts by analyzing sample messages, bot behaviors, and social campaigns to determine likelihood of malicious intent
• Demonstrate understanding of the ethical, legal, and future implications of weaponized social intelligence by producing recommendations for mitigation, policy, or user-facing guidance