AI-Driven Deception and Defense

This unit examines how generative AI enables new forms of deception, scams, and exploitation, and introduces cognitive and technical defenses to detect and mitigate those threats. Students will study real-world tactics, the limits of fact-checking, and build practical strategies to strengthen individual and organizational resilience.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze at least three AI-enabled deception techniques (e.g., jailbreaks, weaponized outputs, scam bots, and signal manipulation) and explain how they exploit technical and human vulnerabilities
• Apply media literacy and fact-checking strategies to evaluate the credibility of digital content and identify indicators of AI-generated or manipulated information
• Demonstrate the design and execution of a basic mitigation plan (including detection cues, user training, and response steps) for a simulated GenAI-powered scam or social-engineering attack
• Evaluate emerging threats and trade-offs by comparing the effectiveness, ethical implications, and limitations of cognitive defenses, technical controls, and policy measures