New Lectures in History (300-0-20)

Topic

Thinking Machines: The History and Ethics of AI

Instructors

Benjamin Lindquist

Meeting Info

Harris Hall L28: Mon, Wed 12:30PM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is not new. Long before the term was coined in 1955, 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, evolving ethics, and critical concepts of AI.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the quarter, 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.

Class Notes

History Major Concentration(s): Americas
History Minor Concentration(S): Science and Technology

Class Attributes

Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area