Foundations of AI-Driven Deception

This unit introduces the historical, technological, and cognitive foundations of deception in the digital age, with emphasis on how AI and synthetic media change threat dynamics. Students will explore the evolution of scams and persuasion, key AI concepts and inflection points, and the basics of cognitive security to prepare for deeper technical, analytical, and policy-focused units that follow.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze historical and contemporary examples of deception to identify recurring patterns, technological enablers, and how those patterns map to modern AI-driven tactics
• Evaluate the capabilities and limitations of AI and synthetic media by comparing machine intelligence behaviors to human intelligence using examples from AI history and recent inflection points
• Demonstrate application of basic cognitive security principles by designing and justifying at least two simple defensive strategies individuals or organizations can use to reduce susceptibility to AI-enabled deception
• Communicate core takeaways and forward-looking implications of synthetic media and AI for personal, societal, and professional information integrity in a concise written or oral summary to prepare for subsequent technical and policy units