Special Topics course on Ethics and Artificial Intelligence
PHIL 330/430
Instructor: Prof. Shannon E. French
This course will explore ethical issues concerning the development and use of Artificial Intelligence, ranging from deferring to automation as an authority to the effects of bias embedded in algorithms to vital questions of autonomy and accountability, all the way to an examination of possible rights for advanced AI systems in the future. AI is currently used in many settings, from businesses to health care to the military, all of which have an impact on human lives. There are risks and opportunities associated with this, including the intriguing possibility that we could use AI as augmentation to make us more ethical, not less. This course will give students the opportunity to consider and debate how AI can be designed and deployed in ways that promote the common good and avoid causing harm, especially to the most vulnerable among us.