PHIL 143.001 – AI and the Future of Humanity: Philosophical Issues about Technology and Human Survival

Instructor: Conner Schultz. This course meets MWF 11:15 a.m. – 12:05 p.m. in DA 301.

This course focuses on philosophical questions tied to advances in technology, including artificial intelligence and virtual reality.

One part of the class will deal with metaphysical and epistemological questions. Is a virtual reality an illusion or just a different kind of reality? Can minds and consciousness be realized by machines or computers? Can we know we’re not currently in a simulation?

The other part of the class will deal with moral and existential questions. Are new technologies an extinction threat for humanity or a new horizon for a novel way of survival? What do we owe AI, how will they relate to us, and how could we influence that things will go well?