| Unit name | Philosophy in the Digital Age |
|---|---|
| Unit code | PHIL30132 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Lena Zuchowski |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
N/A |
| Co-requisites |
N/A |
| School/department | Department of Philosophy |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Digital technologies pervade all aspects of our life. Indeed, they allow us to put this course description into hypertext, save it on a digital network, and have you view it on a handheld digital device. Beyond the ubiquity of its technologies, the digital world is inhabited by a host of strange entities (thinking machines, learning algorithms, virtual lifeforms) whose existence raises increasingly important philosophical problems.
This unit will explore some of the key philosophical problems and methodological questions that have arisen from the development and proliferation of digital technology, from the creation of virtual realities, and from research programmes to develop synthetic intelligence and artificial life. Questions to be explored include the following:
(1) The metaphysical status of virtual worlds and artificial life including the questions of whether such worlds are real and whether artificial life is really a form of life,
(2) The ethical problems that arise from the use of deep learning mechanisms and from the incorporation of autonomous robots and artificial life forms into society,
(3) The epistemology of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning,
(4) The methodological questions surrounding the use of digital tools and techniques in science and philosophy.
On successful completion of the unit students will be able to:
(1) demonstrate sophisticated knowledge and understanding of the core philosophical problems and methodological questions that have arisen from the development and proliferation of digital technology,
(2) demonstrate sophisticated knowledge and understanding of the core literature on these problems and questions,
(3) present, critically engage with, and philosophically analyze, these problems and questions, together with the relevant core literature on them, in a manner appropriate to level H/6,
(4) demonstrate skills in philosophical writing, analysis, and argument, appropriate to level H/6,
(5) work together collaboratively with others to analyse philosophical ideas and arguments, using the key tools of analytic philosophy, and to present these collaboratively as a group in a form accessible to the general public.
Lectures, small group work, individual exercises, seminars and virtual learning environment.
Summative 4500 word essay - 100% (designed to test ILOs (1)-(4)) + Formative: Digital collaborative presentation [designed to test ILOs (1)-(5)]
Dennett, D. (1998). Brainchildren. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Lin, P., Abney, K., and R. Jenkins, (2017). Robot Ethics 2.0: From Autonomous Cars to Artificial Intelligence. New York: Oxford University Press.
Boden, A. M. (1996). The Philosophy of Artificial Life. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Asimov, I. (1951/2013). I, Robot. London: HarperVoyager.
