Upon completion of the AI and Communication Certificate, earners will be able to:
PLO1. Ethical and Critical Understanding
Explain how artificial intelligence shapes human interaction, media systems, and organizational practices; critically assess its evolving capabilities, limitations, and ethical implications to guide responsible use and audience-centered communication. Evaluate how creativity, empathy, and rhetorical judgment can enhance ethical communication in AI-mediated contexts.
Specifically:
1. Analyze how AI technologies influence meaning-making, persuasion, and representation in media and communication contexts.
2. Evaluate ethical and cultural implications of AI use in message creation, data analysis, and audience engagement.
3. Apply rhetorical and ethical reasoning to design responsible communication strategies that foreground empathy and inclusion.
PLO2. Strategic and Creative Message Design
Use AI tools strategically and effectively to research, generate, and evaluate messages across multiple new media platforms. Apply human–AI collaboration strategies to produce messages that integrate aesthetic innovation with audience engagement, demonstrating creativity, rhetorical sensitivity, and data-informed decision-making in professional communication contexts.
Specifically:
4. Design AI-enhanced messages that combine creativity, audience insight, and ethical awareness.
5. Use generative tools to develop original content demonstrating aesthetic and rhetorical innovation.
6. Assess message effectiveness through audience feedback, platform analytics, and ethical reflection.
PLO3. Career Readiness and Leadership
Integrate communication theory with AI applications to design innovative, socially responsible strategies and lead communication projects for organizations that foster inclusion, ethical decision-making, and sustainable technological adaptation. Demonstrate leadership in shaping ethical and creative AI communication practices within diverse professional, civic, and global contexts.
Specifically:
7. Integrate communication theory and AI practice to address real-world organizational challenges ethically and strategically.
8. Demonstrate leadership in planning and managing AI-mediated communication initiatives across industries.
9. Advocate for human-centered, creative, and ethical AI communication within professional and civic settings.
By aligning these outcomes with CU Denver’s mission to foster innovation, inclusivity, and career readiness, the AI and Communication Certificate bridges the gap between technological proficiency and human insight. Its emphasis on ethical reasoning, creative message design, and applied leadership directly supports students’ ability to navigate and shape communication in AI-driven environments. Collectively, the PLOs ensure that graduates are not only competent users of AI technologies but also thoughtful communicators who critically evaluate, ethically implement, and creatively harness AI to advance responsible media, organizational, and civic practices.