About the Course
Artificial intelligence is being discussed in the public square as it rarely has been in the past. While AI has always been a popular topic of science fiction, high profile technologists like Elon Musk and Bill Gates are commenting on the potential dangers of AI, particularly the prospect of “general” (aka autonomous) AI, and its displacement of the human species as dominant. Optimistic views of AI look to the power of computer analysis to strengthen human decision making in areas such as environmental sustainability. Even in the realm of general artificial intelligences, the optimistic view is that collective intelligences composed of both humans and AIs will be more powerful and compassionate than either “species” would be alone.
This high-level course objectives are that students acquire the tools (vocabulary, concepts, historiography, etc.) to critically think, read, and write about AI in scientific, engineering, and literary contexts; and to interrogate the ethical implications of AI as a technological, social, and cultural phenomenon. Students will learn rudimentary, but important aspects of intelligent, computational modeling and processing, so that they can appreciate the implications of AI with a more sophisticated understanding of the technology.
Specific topics addressed in the course include the technical, safety and economic implications of AI-enabled automation, to include transportation, manufacturing, journalism, and legal advising; AI-endowed advisory tools in areas such as environmental and resource planning; biases and mediocrities in AIs, which can reinforce human prejudice and myopia; AI and personhood, to include the theological implications of AI, as well as the implications of falsely-perceived AIs.
The course will culminate toward creative student projects as the final assignment, starting with a mid-term project proposal where students will outline the content and objective of their product in consultation with the instructors and each other. Students will be encouraged to draw from their own disciplinary expertise and/or interest, and also utilize the assignment to enrich or kickstart their Immersion project, if applicable. Proposals must articulate the content of the project, rationale behind the choice theme/subject/material and how it aligns with the course topic of AI ethics; and how the medium/form informs and embodies the content. Throughout the second-half of the semester, students will collaboratively workshop project ideas in Section 2 and build prototypes in Section 1, and present their final products in a Research Fair-type final conference at the end of the term before submitting their work. Each student will also be asked to submit a reflection essay, critically analyzing how they applied class content and what they learned through the design and production process by doing so. Projects may vary in form depending on the student’s major and interest, ranging from creative writing, short films, ethnographic surveys, apps, videogames, programming tools, service platform designs, and more. Given its trans-institutional nature and timely topic, the course will be of interest to undergraduate students in a variety of disciplines across the college of Arts and Sciences, Peabody, Engineering, and Blair; and potentially of graduate and professional students as well, at Divinity, Management, Law, Medicine, and Nursing.
For more on the course, explore course themes and motivation, an abbreviated list of topics, and course organization. An executive summary of the course is on Vanderbilt’s Break Thru blog.
Douglas H. Fisher (Computer Science; Computer Engineering; Communication of Science & Technology — affiliated)
Haerin Shin (English; Cinema & Media Arts; Asian Studies — affiliated)