Full Breakdown
Prof. Claudia V. Goldman — AI Researcher, Educator, and Immigrant Scholar
By Drooid · · How we work
Academic Background and Career Path
Claudia V. Goldman arrived in Israel with her family in January 1984 after growing up in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She completed high school at Jerusalem’s Mae Boyer High School, served in the Israeli army, and earned three degrees from the Hebrew University: a BSc in Computer Science, Mathematics and Electronics (1991), an MSc in Computer Science (1993), and a PhD in Computer Science (1999) under 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 spent three years leading a team at Samsung Telecom Research in Herzliya before joining General Motors’ R&D organization in Herzliya for 15 years, where she focused on learning agents for vehicle user interfaces. Since July 2024 she has been an associate professor in the Data Science Department of the Hebrew University Business School. Goldman holds 24 patents and has authored more than 50 academic papers.
Approach to AI in the Classroom
Goldman says she sets clear expectations for AI use: students must disclose when they employ AI tools and explain how the tools contributed to their work. She discourages reliance on fully AI-generated answers, instead encouraging students to brainstorm with AI and critically assess outputs for bias or fabricated sources. Assessment combines in-class work, presentations, and student-organized discussions, allowing her to gauge understanding directly.
AI-Focused Courses Offered
(course #55022). The fall semester has begun, and a Free Listener Program lets senior citizens audit university courses.
Views on AI’s Societal Impact
When asked about Bill Gates’s “Human Reserved” concept—preserving certain jobs for humans—Goldman stresses that the issue is not binary. She argues that the value of AI depends on the specific role it plays and that cultivating critical skills is essential to maximize benefits while mitigating risks.
Personal and Family Background
Goldman’s grandparents emigrated from Europe to Argentina before many relatives were killed in the Holocaust. She was raised in a multilingual Jewish school, studying Yiddish, Hebrew, and Spanish, before transitioning to public schooling. She met her husband, Prof. Roy Shenhar of the Institute of Chemistry at the Hebrew University, on the stairs of the Ross Building in 1995; they married in 1999.