AI and Social Upheaval

Catalog description

Over the next several decades, advances in artificial intelligence are likely to transform our societies, economies, cultures, and understanding of what it means to be human. Not enough people have begun to grapple with this fact, and with the wide range of philosophical, ethical, and political issues it raises. This course moves from foundational questions about AI's nature to practical and political concerns about its impact on our collective future. Based on the latest research spanning behavioral science, computer science, philosophy, and computational social science, we will examine the promises and pitfalls of AI, with particular emphasis on (1) the strange and difficult-to-imagine consequences of AI (i.e., second- and third-order effects) and (2) phenomena with consequences for human well-being (information ecosystems, warfare, interpersonal relationships, scientific discovery, democracy). Prerequisites: 70-207 or 36-200