Artificial intelligence and data-driven systems are increasingly shaping how people live, learn and work. At the same time, it is becoming clear that digital systems are not neutral: they influence accessibility, behaviour and opportunity. This reality is driving demand for professionals who can both develop technology and assess it critically. The new UvA programme addresses this need by structurally combining both perspectives throughout the curriculum.

Sennay Ghebreab, programme director of the master’s in Information Studies and closely involved in developing the programme, explains the rationale: “Technology is evolving faster than our ability to understand its consequences. Professionals are needed who can not only develop systems, but also question, anticipate and shape their impact.” The programme therefore focuses on questions such as why a system is being built, for whom, and what effects it has in practice.

Where programmes such as Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence focus primarily on systems and algorithms, this educational line emphasises how information and data are used and what impact that has on people and society. The curriculum gives explicit attention to designing systems that are effective, ethical and inclusive, and to the question of who bears responsibility for the effects of technology. Concrete topics include the use of algorithms in public services, the reliability of generative AI, digital exclusion, and how technology can be designed to be more transparent and human-centred.

The programme builds on years of UvA research into the relationship between people, technology and society, with that research knowledge translated directly into teaching. Ghebreab summarises the ambition: “Many students want to do something with AI, but above all something that matters. They receive a solid technical foundation and the tools to steer technology in the right direction.”