Artifical Intelligence

How should we think about Artificial Intelligence? The rapid evolution and wide availability of text/image generators has sparked a cultural discussion dealing with the realities and possibilities of intelligent machines. Above any policy or even current ethical issues, we have a crisis of meaning: AI raises existential questions about humanity and its place in the world. We are philosophically adrift; how do we understand this moment, and where should we go next.
We will take a broad, interdisciplinary stance to understand the basics of what AI systems are today, the fundamentals of computing, contemporary issues, and a survey of philosophical concepts closely tied to these questions. From there, we will explore several questions in more depth, such as: What is the nature of the scientific project? How can we make ethical AI? What could sentient machines teach us about consciousness? Can science and technology reach ultimate truths about the universe?