SOC GEN 131Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Algorithms in the Biosciences
Society and Genetics · 4 units · Undergraduate upper division (100-199)
Introduction to historical, ethical, and political aspects of data, artificial intelligence, and information in the biosciences. How data are produced, analyzed, and used in the biological and medical domains. How artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning is being deployed in contemporary biosciences. Students learn to think at a high level about the values and goals of data, AI, and information practices; the political economy of data and AI; and some concrete details and practical limitations of these approaches.
Letter grading.
When it runs
- Winter 2026
Scheduled, not typical — from UCLA’s Schedule of Classes, which publishes Fall 2025 through Spring 2027 and nothing before it.
Requisites
UCLA lists no requisites for this course.
Requires
Everything that has to come before this course, not just the courses named in the requisite above.
Nothing — this is an entry point.
Unlocks
What this course is a requisite for, and what those courses lead to in turn.
No course in the catalog lists this as a requisite.