The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has generated both excitement for its potential benefits and concern over the profound philosophical and ethical challenges it poses to individuals and society at large. This course explores some of the big philosophical and ethical questions raised by AI, such as what is intelligent, and what does it mean to be truly intelligent. It also discusses the moral status of intelligent machines, and what it entails if they have moral standing. As AI becomes ever more integrated into our world, it is important to ask: Can AI be trusted, and, if so, how? What are the implications of AI for privacy, autonomy, human rights, and creativity? This course also examines the issues of AI and social justice such as fairness and equity as well as AI’s impacts on democracy and whether it should be viewed as a public infrastructure. Looking into the future, humanity must grapple with the fundamental question of whether AI presents the greatest threat to humanity, or does it offer an unparalleled opportunity for advancement.

This course invites students to engage critically with the philosophical and ethical challenges of AI, providing them with the tools to navigate and flourish in a future increasingly shaped by this transformative technology.