AI and Human Communication
Learn how AI can understand the way people communicate—through language, voice, facial expressions, and body language—and the opportunities and challenges that follow.
Course Information
Certificate Track
About this Course
Discover how artificial intelligence (AI) analyzes the way people communicate through language, voice, facial expressions, body language, and social interaction. In this course, you’ll explore how AI identifies signals such as emotion, intent, personality, and social dynamics—and why interpreting human behavior is more complex than it first appears.
You’ll examine how AI processes text, speech, images, and video to understand communication, from word choice and vocal tone to gestures, eye contact, and group interactions. You’ll also explore real-world applications, including sentiment analysis, socially intelligent AI, and health, while considering the challenges of ambiguous behavioral cues, context, and privacy.
AI and Human Communication is one of the industry-specific courses in Universal AI, a self-paced program designed to help you go from beginner to AI authority—no coding or technical skills required.
What you'll learn
- Understand how AI analyzes verbal, vocal, and visual signals—from language and vocal tone to facial expressions, gestures, and eye contact.
- Explore multimodal behavior analysis, including how Recurrent Neural Networks and Transformer models process language, speech-processing approaches interpret vocal signals, and Convolutional Neural Networks analyze visual communication to identify emotion, intent, personality, and social dynamics.
- Recognize real-world applications of communication AI, including sentiment analysis, socially intelligent systems, and health-related tools.
- Evaluate the challenges of interpreting ambiguous human behavior, including context, privacy, and responsible design.
How you'll learn
Real-World LearningLearn from MIT faculty and experts who ground their teaching in real-world cases rather than mathematical models, making the material approachable for all.
Learn On DemandAccess all course content online with complete flexibility to study at your own pace.
AI-Enabled SupportDeepen your understanding of the course material and get help on assignments from AskTIM, the AI assistant built by MIT researchers.
Stackable CredentialsEarn an MIT Open Learning certificate at each milestone—module, course, and program—demonstrating your AI expertise. Available in paid courses only.
Meet your instructors
Paul Liang
Assistant Professor, MIT Media Lab, MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Paul Liang is the founding director of the Multisensory Intelligence research group, which studies the foundations of multisensory artificial intelligence to create human-AI symbiosis across scales and sensory mediums, enhancing productivity, creativity, and wellbeing.
