PHIL 694: Special Topics in Contemporary Philosophy
PHIL 694-005: The Politics of Algorithms
(Fall 2024)
04:30 PM to 07:10 PM W
Planetary Hall 224
Section Information for Fall 2024
Data-driven technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) have become a central element of our lives, shaping our political and social world in both subtle and profound ways. The title of this course draws inspiration from Langdon Winner’s seminal 1980 work, “Do Artifacts Have Politics?” As we will see throughout the course, the answer to this question is a resounding “yes.” Drawing on traditions of critical data studies and values in science, this course examines how algorithms embody, shape, and are shaped by, our societal values. We will examine how practices of quantification, prediction, and surveillance inherit – and distort – social and political values in areas including the carceral system, public benefits, transportation, child welfare, and the workplace. In so doing, we will explore how algorithms relate to a range of morally and politically salient topics, including power, inequality, colonialism, labor, surveillance, reform, refusal, and corporate capture.
View 1 Other Section of this Course in this Semester »
Tags:
Course Information from the University Catalog
Credits: 3
Enrollment limited to students with a class of Advanced to Candidacy, Graduate, Junior Plus, Non-Degree or Senior Plus.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate, Non-Degree or Undergraduate level students.
Students in a Non-Degree Undergraduate degree may not enroll.
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes.