New Lectures in History (300-0-20)
Topic
Artificial Intelligence: A History
Instructors
Benjamin Charles Lindquist
Meeting Info
Harris Hall L28: Tues, Thurs 12:30PM - 1:50PM
Overview of class
Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is not new. Long before the term was coined in 1956, engineers and inventors sought to mechanize human thought and behavior. This course will address and contextualize the chronological arc of AI, from eighteenth-century automatons to today's large language models. Together, we will investigate how changing conceptions of human intelligence and creativity influenced the development and implementation of what we now call AI. In so doing, we will familiarize ourselves with changing strategies for creating "intelligent" machines and engage in lively debates over the problems and possibilities of machine sentience. Will this course secure you a six-figure salary working for OpenAI? Sadly, no. It will, however, enrich your knowledge of the historical trajectory and critical concepts of AI.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lecture, students will have critically examined the historical narratives and cultural interpretations that shape our understanding of AI. Doing this will allow students from different disciplines to gain a historically grounded understanding of AI terms and concepts that have become increasingly critical to understanding our contemporary world.
Evaluation Method
Class participation, written work
Class Notes
Concentration: Americas
Class Attributes
Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area
Attendance at 1st class mandatory