An algorithm for life | The Quad

The AI with Purposeseries showcases how faculty and staff are thoughtfully using AI to enhance student learning, improve efficiencies and model critically informed use - while clarifying the university's values, building AI literacy and strengthening U of A leadership in this rapidly evolving space.

In some situations, AI can be a useful tool for students, like when they need help summarizing a complex, lengthy research paper. However, there's one thing algorithms can never do for you - dream. And that's precisely what Torrey Dance and Dr. Ania Ulrich want students to focus on in their course INT D 209 - Designing Your Life.

"It's really an opportunity for students to explore, often for the first time in their lives, who they are and what they value," says Ania, a professor and associate dean (Experiential and Professional Education) in the Faculty of Engineering. "It's an opportunity for them to begin reflecting internally on where they want to go with their lives and what they want to do."

The course, which was pioneered at Stanford, takes the lens of design thinking - the tools and skills typically used for tasks like product design - and applies it to life. "A lot of design thinking mindsets are just really great skills for life, things like curiosity and collaboration," says Torrey, manager of Experiential and Professional Education in the Faculty of Engineering.

After Stanford's Designing Your Life course became a runaway success, the institution began inviting other universities to receive guidance on how to deliver the course to their own students. Ania and Torrey were intrigued, and after going to California for a training session, they got to work, tailoring their version of the class to the U of A's needs and eventually getting it in the course catalogue.

"It's not about engineering the ideal, perfect career or life for yourself," explains Torrey. "It's about approaching life with the designer's mindset of prototyping, experimenting, failing and learning along the way."

And, Ania notes, they were careful to forewarn students from the outset that the class would demand something a bit unique for a university course - vulnerability. "They have to bring themselves to the table, and the expectation is that they discuss what's going on in their lives, their hopes and dreams," she says.

To set students up for success, one of the components of the course that Ania and Torrey developed was an agreement on AI usage. After seeing a presentation writing studies instructor Dr. Nancy Bray gave at AI Day 2025, they knew they wanted to take a similar approach. Like Nancy, they designed an activity where students could weigh in on the topic. "We wanted them to explore questions like what is the value of doing the work myself, what do we lose when we use AI, what's appropriate and what's not," says Torrey.

The discussion resulted in an AI agreement, which included the stipulation that for all written assignments, students clearly state how they used AI and how it supported their learning. There was a lot of variation, Ania notes, with about a third not using it at all, a third drawing on AI tools for basic grammar checks and proofreading, with the remaining third getting more creative, doing things like uploading their assignment and providing a rubric to get feedback on opportunities for improvement. "The important thing was just getting it out there and talking about it openly," says Torrey.

"Teaching students how to constructively use AI in a way that's beneficial, helpful and thoughtful is, I believe, a good approach to take," adds Ania.

However, the nature of the course content meant that there were certain built-in limitations to how useful AI would be for students, something they also emphasized in their choice of assignments, explains Torrey. "I would never say that an assignment was AI-proof, but it was a very intentional thing on our part to build in assignments that are not your standard essay Gemini can whip out," he says. "There are things you could ask AI, but you're going to get surface level answers. It's not going to be that helpful unless you really do put yourself into the submission and do some of the thinking and reflection."

This is particularly true for the final assignment for the course, which is to craft an Odyssey Plan. For this project, students must map out multiple versions of a five-year plan, including one where the sky is truly the limit and there are absolutely no restrictions. "Having AI do that for you is pointless," says Ania. "It's your life, your dream, where you want to go."

The first time they offered the course, they were pleased to see a diverse blend of students from various departments and faculties including Business, Arts, Psychology, Computer Science, Engineering and Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences. "Part of the design process is the idea of radical collaboration - bringing together people who are different from you and getting unique perspectives and approaches," says Torrey. "We really saw that within the class."

Both Ania and Torrey were surprised by and proud of how open and honest students became in the class. "At the end, we got comments about people making lifelong friendships in this class," says Torrey. While both note they might change certain activities or assignments in future iterations, the core of what they were hoping to achieve with the class came through.

"One of the things I wanted to hammer home for students was the necessity of curiosity and empathy," adds Torrey. "I think those are two big things that our students really need to have to be successful."