| Unit name | Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence |
|---|---|
| Unit code | PHIL20069 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Ratti |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of Philosophy |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The unit provides training in conceptual, ethical, and philosophical enquiry that is essential to understanding contemporary issues relating to Artificial Intelligence.
Artificial intelligence relates to issues across philosophy. This unit covers four areas:
(1) AI and the Mind: Machine learning achieves a high degree of competence in performing tasks based on pattern recognition in large data sets. Recent advances in transformer models have led to step changes in the capabilities of AI in language-use, raising important issues about whether and in what sense AI’s understand language and mean what they say. There are also many philosophical questions that overlap with the philosophy of cognitive science, including what it would take for AIs to be conscious or sentient, and whether or not they should be thought of as agents in anything like the sense it which we are.
(2) AI and human interaction: People already routinely interact with AIs and they are likely to become ever more central to daily life. The importance of mutuality in human social interaction makes us vulnerable to AI systems that exploit our need to connect with other humans and our affective and cognitive functioning. Increasingly there will be people whose cognitive and emotional lives will be largely or totally reliant on AI. The students will learn to engage with debates about what it is to be human, and the optimistic and sceptical arguments concerning transhumanism.
(3) The Epistemology of AI: As AI decision-making becomes more widespread there are critical issues about its accountability and reliability. The growing used of AI in scientific research raises the problems of opacity and the future of science. There is a growing literature on bias in machine-learning and how can they be mitigated.
(4) Moral and Political Philosophy of AI: There are many important ethical issues concerning the concrete forms of AI already centrally involved in human life. There is a large literature on bias in AI systems, and a growing body of research on political philosophy and AI. The value alignment problem, dark patterns and the effect of feedback loops between humans and AIs on autonomy and the nature of the self are important issues for everyone that leaders in AI need to understand.
On successful completion of the unit students will be able to:
(1) demonstrate detailed knowledge and understanding of core philosophical problems of Artificial Intelligence;
(2) demonstrate detailed knowledge and understanding of the core literature on these problems;
(3) present, critically engage with, and philosophically analyse, these problems and questions, together with the relevant core literature on them, in a manner appropriate to level I/5;
(4) demonstrate skills in philosophical writing, analysis, and argument, appropriate to level I/5; and,
(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.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Feedback will be through discussion sessions and workshops
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Group Poster/Website (20%) [ILOs 1-3, 5]
In -person Essay-based Examination (80%) [ILOs 1-4]
When assessment does not go to plan
Students who have not been able to take part in or pass the group poster/website task will be reassessed via submitting an individual report (1,500 words) responding to the poster/website of the group that they were assigned to. [ILOs 1-3, 5]
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. PHIL20069).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
