Politics of Artif. Intel

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course examines the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI), media, and politics. We aim to look past “AI doomerism,” the gloomy view that smart machines will overpower and/or replace humanity in the short to medium run. Instead, we wish to explore with students how social and political realities are being (re-)shaped by AI algorithms, focusing on the capabilities and limitations of the new digital tools and platforms. Dispelling myths and misinformation that abound online and offline, we shall also pay close attention to the nature of threats and opportunities posed by AI for politics today in democratic and nondemocratic contexts. Focusing on the upcoming US elections this fall, we aim to develop a shared, hands-on approach to issues of algorithmic manipulation, misinformation campaigns, and extreme or hate speech. We will reflect together on the ethics of AI with respect to digital privacy, freedom of expression, and race, gender, and decoloniality online. We will also situate the US elections in a comparative perspective in a year where over fifty elections are being held in countries such as the UK, EU, India, Indonesia, Ghana, and Mexico. A comparative lens can help us make sense of what is distinctive about emerging technopolitical realities in the United States vis-a-vis the rest of the world, and to what extent American exceptionalism is justified in the current circumstances. Over fourteen weeks, students will be expected to design and undertake their own research projects. We expect students to be more than passive listeners and readers. They will, in fact, produce new, cutting-edge knowledge on a critical yet unexplored area of world politics today. In other words, this seminar is focused on real-world applications and original research as much as it is on acquainting students with the best available scholarship on the subject.