Artificial Intelligence and Humanity

Autumn 2017
66-161 / 16-161

Week Date Topic Assignment Due Instructor Notes

Students read: KWT Artificial &

1 8/29 Class Introduction
View: Lo and Behold
Read: Raymond Williams Key
Words (excerpts) and Key Words
for Today Technology and
Society
Technology & Society:
Journal Entry: Technology and
Discuss: Lo and Behold
society Lo and Belhold
8/31
Read: Simon Head Mindless
Labor, Equality & Dignity (excerpts)
9/5 Discuss: Mindless KWT Equality
2 Mapping Entry: Mindless
Nature
~Brief discussion on content of
KWT
~Discuss syllabus and
expectations in class
Students read: KWT
Technology & Society
~Discuss how technology and
society are explored in Lo &
Behold
Students read and map: Simon
Head Mindless and KWT
Equality
 Check with Mark on prep
materials, if any.
What kind of notes do we want
Mark Kamlet Inequality & Automation
students taking? Should these be
Guest Lecture Read: KW Labor and
framed by KW Labor?
9/7 Humanity

Jen gives mini-lecture on

concept of individuality and
identity in the context of
narrative.

Read: Siegel The Idea of the ~Discussion on connections

Self (excerpts) between lecture on individuality
History of Labor, Identity & Narrative and identity in the context of
Lecture Mapping Entry: Self Kamlets talk
3 9/12

Group discussion on Douglass:

Why is narrative, as opposed to
statistics or facts, a strategic
choice? How does narrative shift
Read: Narrative of the Life of concepts of identity and
Frederick Douglass Chapters I-VIII individuality? How does this
Narrative, Race & Labor open up conversation open up
Discuss: Douglass KWT Narrative key concepts pertaining to labor
9/14 and enslavement?

Self, Agency & Autonomy
Discuss: Douglass and Seigel
4 9/19
Read: Narrative of the Life of
Frederick Douglass Chapters IX to
the end
KWT Identity
Journal Entry: Literacy & Agency
Illah and Jen set context for a
conversation on the
connections that Douglass
offers on reading, autonomy
and a sense of self
Discussion:
In publishing a narrative,
Douglass insists on the
humanity and individuality of
enslaved people. What
implications can you decipher
in this strategic move? What
are the explicit and implicit
messages of Douglass work?
How do you anticipate
Douglass work might inform
our later conversations
pertaining to agency, autonomy
and individuality in human-to-
machine relatinships?
 Jen will give a context lecture
on the historical circumstances
where Capeks play emerges
with references to WWI, the
colonialism and race relations
(Louis Chude-Sokei)

Discussion:
Slavery & Robotics Read: Capek RUR ~What is a synopsis of the play?
Discuss: Capeks Rossums Universal KWT Freedom ~What themes are most
Robots (RUR) Mapping Entry: RUR and persistent in relation to the
9/21 imagiing the future class?

Illah will highlight the influence

of the term robot in
technologist communities as
context i.e. the narrative of
Capeks influence on engineers
optimism and aspiration in
technological development.
What is this narrative?

Discussion:
~ How can we attend to labor
and humanity within the context
of Capeks play? How does this
connect to technologists
Read: Herman Cambridge
aspirations in the 20th and 21st
Narrative and imaging the future Companion on Narrative
centuries?
5 9/26 (excerpt)

Agency, Labor & Narrative
Discuss: Star Trek The Measure of a
9/27 Man and other pertinent materials
Robotics Primer: State of the Art
6 10/3 Lecture
View: The Measure of Man
Journal Entry: Agency, Labor &
Narrative
Search: Search for recent
articles pertaining to state of
the art technological
advancements
Jen leads contextual framing of
The Measure of Man to
connect its themes to those
discussed in regard to Douglass
and Capek
Discussion:
What elements in our exploration
of key words like humanity,
equality, identity and labor in
reference to human-to-human
relationships can be transferred
or brought to bear on human-to-
machine relationships depicted
in The Measure of Man
episode?
Illah lecture on state of the
art in robotics, AI, etc.
 Choose robotics labs to tour

Read: Choose a recent article

from your search results to read

Journal Entry: Explore how your

article touches on one of the
following themes:
Narrative
Literacy
Agency
Dignity
Labor
Inequality
Automation
Exploitation
Robotics Tours at CMU
10/5

Project idea presentations

***Final Concept Map Group Illah lectures on robotics and

Assignments*** violence

Project Idea Presentations:

Ethics & Exploitation: Robots & Violence Share your final project ideas on
Lecture mixed media futuring and
7 10/10 receive feedback from peers
 ***Final Concept Map Group Discussion on Illahs lecture
Assignments***
Finish project idea presentations
Project Idea Presentations:
Share your final project ideas on
mixed media futuring and
10/12 Discussion: Robots & Violence receive feedback from peers

Presentation of Duffy work and

View: Rita Duffy Watch Tower facilitate initial conversation on
Series and Echo demo reactions.
Read: (CHOOSE CITATION)
Surveillance Belfast and beyond Echo demo in class and reactions
Discuss: Rita Duffy Watchtower series KTW Information and
8 10/17 and Amazon Echo demo Network
 Illah and Jen contextualize
surveillance and futuring in
regard to Minority Report

Discussion:

Minority Report imagines a

Surveillance and Agency
10/19 Discuss: Minority Report
future that may or may not be
upon us. What are some of the
fantastical elements of the film?
What ideas now seem dated
View: Minority Report
when we consider current state
Journal entry: Surveillance and
of the art technological
Agency on Minority Report or
advances?
Duffy Watch Tower series

Illah gives lecture on AI deep

9 10/24 Agency & Autonomy: Human & AI Project Proposals Due dive

Journal Entry: Midterm

10/26 Conferences reflection
 Illah offers deep dive on Watson
system. Jen contextualizes
notions on literacy in regard to
Watson and opens up
conversations pertaining to
labor, individuality and notions
of identity

Discussion:
Does Watson read? What
anthropomorphic features do we
Literacy & Data Read: Articles on Watson ascribe to Watson by virtue of its
Discuss: IBM Watson View: Watson demos and media name and functions?
10 10/31 coverage

View: Black Mirror Be Right
Back
Mapping Entry: Data and
Data & Individuality Individuality (Self)
11/2 Discuss: Be Right Back
Discussion:
Synopsis on Be Right Back.
What is at stake in this imagined
future where there is a
disconnect between data and
humanity? How is narrative used
to mine the complexity of
human-to-machine relationships
in regard to companionship and
love?

11 11/7 Tour UBER Revised Project Proposals Due

 11/9 Working Session on Class Concept Map
Journal Entry: Reflection on
how class concept map informs
or influences mixed media
12 11/14 Working Session on Class Concept Map futuring project

Read: Danks DECIDE on

CITATION
11/16 David Danks Drones and Warfare KWT Ethical
Illah and Jen frame
argumentative framework in
Drone Theory
Discussion:
What is the premise of Bees as
a form of cultural critique? Why
is the narrative compelling? How
does the futuring technique bear
out when addressing emerging
Autonomy, Surveillance & Weaponry technology but current political
Discuss Bees Read: Excerpts of Drone Theory circumstances?
13 11/21 View: Black Mirror Bees

11/23 THANKSGIVING
 Read: Suchman DECIDE on
14 11/28 Lucy Suchman Autonomous Weapons CITATION
Journal Entry: Explore
autonomy, surveillance and
weaponry in the context of
Class canceled work in groups for final Bees discussion and Danks
11/30 project lecture

Individual conferences in class and open

work sessions
15 12/5 Concept Map: Drafts Due

Individual conferences in class and open

work sessions Futuring Mixed Media: Drafts
12/7 Due

Concept Maps: Final due

16 12/12 Futuring Gallery Walk & Party! Journal Entry: Final reflection