Persons and Machines

Catalog description

As culture and society become increasingly automated and technologized, the distinction between persons and machines has evolved into a complex question with ethical, social, scientific and legal dimensions. Persons are becoming more integrated with machines through workplace automation and social media, and machines are becoming more like persons as robotics and AI research creates machines that aim to mirror human thought processes, behavior, and functioning. In this class, students will explore the concept of personhood as it was understood by prominent philosophers prior to the technological age and go on explore how this concept has changed since. We will discuss what this new state of affairs implies for various aspects of life and society, including a special look at the person-machine relation as depicted in science fiction and popular culture. 3 hr./wk; 3 cr.