24 patents and 15 years in industry shape new AI rules at Hebrew University

Associate Professor Claudia V. Goldman holds 24 patents. She brings that industrial background to the Data Science Department at the Hebrew University Business School in Jerusalem, where she has taught since July 2024. Her curriculum now centers on how students interact with artificial intelligence to solve practical problems.

Goldman arrived in Israel in January 1984 at age 16. She completed high school in Jerusalem in 1986 and served in the army before returning to the Hebrew University. She earned a BSc in computer science, mathematics, and electronics in 1991. An MSc in computer science followed in 1993, and she received her PhD in 1999 under the supervision of Prof. Jeff Rosenschein.

From 1999 to 2005, she held research positions at Bar-Ilan University, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and the University of Haifa. She then moved to the private sector. She spent three years as a team leader at Samsung Telecom Research in Herzliya. After that, she worked for 15 years as a research scientist at General Motors' R&D organization, also in Herzliya. There, she focused on introducing learning agents into vehicle user experiences to help drivers understand autonomous driving functions.

In her current role, Goldman defines clear boundaries for AI use. She tells students exactly when and why they may employ these tools. She requires them to credit the technology and explain its specific application in their work. She stated that fully AI-generated answers are not accepted. Students are aware that she can detect AI in their writing.

Her method encourages brainstorming with AI while maintaining critical oversight. Students must check for bias in the information and verify that cited sources actually exist. This approach forces them to engage with the output rather than simply accepting it. She evaluates understanding through classwork, presentations, and peer-organized activities that take place in person. These formats allow her to assess knowledge directly.

The class also covers human responsibility and values. Students discuss what kind of researcher or professional they aim to become. Goldman recently addressed Bill Gates's proposal for a 'Human Reserved' concept, which would set aside certain jobs for people. She noted that the issue is not a simple binary. Instead, it involves understanding the specific benefits AI brings to different roles and the critical skills needed to strengthen human contributions.

The Business School offers related courses, including AI for Social Good, Responsible AI, and When AI Meets Humans and Society. The university also runs a Free Listener Program that allows senior citizens to audit classes. The fall semester has just begun. Goldman’s background includes a move from Buenos Aires to Israel, driven by her father’s desire to leave Argentina and her own statement that she could only see herself growing up in Israel. Her grandparents had emigrated to Argentina before many relatives were killed in the Holocaust.

She met her husband, Prof. Roy Shenhar, a full professor at the Hebrew University's Institute of Chemistry, on the Givat Ram campus in 1995. They met on the stairs of the Ross Building. After running into each other a third time, he honored a Hebrew custom that the person who unexpectedly meets another three times owes them ice cream. They married in 1999.