The course is held in cooperation with the team of Prof. Sabine Ammon (TU Berlin) and with Benzmüller's Team at the University of Bamberg.

Important note: This course will start in the first week of May (May 1-5) with an intensive (whole day) block course. For this students will meet in presence at the TU Berlin to explore the course topic. Participation in this block course in crucial, since working teams will be formed and group work topics will be defined. Subsequent to this, the course will have regular group meetings on demand on Wednesdays. Further details on the course are also available at: https://www.tu.berlin/en/philtech/study-and-teaching/ethics-and-epistemology-of-ai 

To register for this course please send an email asap to: j.moser@tu-berlin.de (with c.benzmueller@fu-berlin.de) in cc.

Content:

Students will learn to critically assess the relationship between technology and society and to analyze the interactions between technology and society from an ethical perspective. Furthermore, students will deal with the deconstruction of the concept of neutrality of technology and learn to critically assess it. At the same time, the environment will be taken as a stakeholder in its own right in order to consider the impact of technological applications from a sustainability perspective. The course will provide students with the necessary theoretical foundations stemming from both Computer Science (in particular AI and digital technologies) and Ethics. This knowledge will be put into practice and deepened through case-based projects carried out in interdisciplinary groups.

Knowledge:

• Acquiring an understanding of foundational concepts of Philosophy and Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and their application in research and practice in the field;
• acquiring an overview of the current ethical challenges in AI;
• transdisciplinary perspectives on these said challenges (including sociological, ecological, political, economic, cultural, historical issues, etc.).

Skills:

• Critical discussion and evaluation of various current perspectives among ethical debates in Philosophy and Ethics of AI;
• development of own argumentative positions based on the fundamental concepts of Philosophy and Ethics of AI (articulation of logical reasoning supported by examples);
• drafting of current and practical case studies in relation to contemporary societal challenges and assessment of these case studies through interdisciplinary perspectives.

Competencies:

• Ability to apply methods of interdisciplinary cooperation, specifically at the intersection of humanities/social sciences and natural/technical sciences;
• ability to discuss and integrate critical feminist, queer and anti-racist perspectives on science, i.e., how sociotechnical problems surrounding race, gender, sexuality, status, class, ability etc. relate to institutional structures of power and domination;
• effective self-management in a collaborative group setting.