Syllabus: Computing, Artificial Intelligence and Philosophy

Computing, Artificial Intelligence, and Philosophy 80-214 Tuesday and Thursday: 1:30–2:50 Instructor: Máté Szabó Email: mszabo@andrew.cmu.edu Office: DH 4301D Office Hours: Friday 12:00–2:00 Course Description The aim of the course is to give an interdisciplinary introduction and overview of philosophical issues surrounding artificial intelligence. By the end of the semester you should have a broad understanding of artificial intelligence and computers as a complex phenomenon, its foundational questions and possible answers thereof, as well as its role in society. The course does not require any background knowledge. Overview First we will learn some logic, computing, and knowledge representation to have a feel for the practice of artificial intelligence. This part will prepare you to understand the main concepts, thus to be able to define the terminology of logic and computability. With this knowledge at hand you will be able to solve simpler problems in knowledge representation. Then, we will discuss philosophical questions such as “How should (artificial) intelligence be defined?” and “Is it possible to construct artificial, intelligent agents at all?” and “How can (artificial) intelligence be recognized?”. These questions will lead us to further questions considering our brains, minds, and perceptions. This part will enable you to describe the core philosophical issues concerning artificial intelligence. Furthermore, you will be able to analyze and evaluate philosophical arguments. In order to have a truly broad, interdisciplinary overview of these issues, we will survey the history of computer design and social issues related to the emergence of computers. In addition, we will take a look at how artificial intelligence was depicted in pop culture, i.e. in early science fiction movies, comic books etc. By the end of the semester you should be able to relate computing and artificial intelligence to your background, as well as to illustrate the impacts of computers and computerization on society. Textbooks and Readings Everyone taking the course is required to have a copy of the following two books: 1 • Carter, Matt: Minds and Computers – An Introduction to the Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence, Edinborough University Press, 2007. • Atkinson, Paul: Computer, Reaktion Books, 2013. All further readings and additional recommended literature will be provided on the Blackboard site of the course in PDF format. Assignments and Grading Your final grade will be calculated according to the following table. A short description of the assignments is immediately after the table. 3 Problem Sets 3 Questionnaires “Surprise” Essay “I Learned...” Essay Attendance and Participation Final Project 3 ×10% = 30% 3 ×10% = 30% 5% 5% 5% 25% Grades are the standard A: 100-90%, B: 89-80% etc. All assignments have to be submitted at the beginning of the class on their due date. For the exact dates see the detailed course Schedule at the end of the Syllabus. 3 Problem Sets and 3 Questionnaires: These assignments will be short. The aim of the Problem Sets is to give students practice with the formal things involved in computing and artificial intelligence. Similarly, the questionnaires will ensure that everyone understands and is able to explain the main philosophical ideas discussed. Further information about required solutions and answers as well as about their grading will be provided in class once the assignments will be announced. Each of these can be submitted twice with the following caveat: you may turn in the second time only a modified solution/answer for a problem/question you already submitted the first time. Thus, try to solve everything the first time and, if you make mistakes, you have the opportunity to fix them and still earn a perfect score. On average you will have one of these shorter assignments every 2 weeks during the first 12 weeks of the semester. For details see the course Schedule at the end of the Syllabus. You will always have at least 10 days to work on them before submission, and for resubmission you will have exactly one week from receiving your graded first attempt. “Surprise” Essay: For this essay you have to read, watch or listen to a popcultural artifact that depicts some kind of artificial intelligence and is older 2 than 30 years. Then on 1 page you have to describe what did surprise you in that depiction, i.e. how did it differ from our current understanding of artificial intelligence. I will provide a long list of science fiction movies, novels, short stories and comics that can be used for this essay. At the same time I encourage everyone to look for such an artifact on their own. If you come up with something not on the list, please contact me and most likely it will be accepted (and possibly added to the list for coming semesters). “I Learned...” Essay: This essay is similar to the “Surprise” one. At the end of the semester you have to turn in a 1 page essay about something that you learned during the semester and found exciting, amusing, useful etc. Final Project: The project provides an opportunity to explore an issue you are interested in, related to artificial intelligence (and computers) understood broadly. I encourage you to find a topic that is connected to your background, major, or personal interests and explore it. This will make your project useful and entertaining at the same time. The final project does not have to be an essay, it can be any artifact, for example, you can write a science fiction short story, produce art or music with the help of the computer using artificially intelligent software, (begin to) develop software etc. You can also survey the history of the use of computers and artificial intelligence in your field. Again, I will provide a long list of possible essay topics and ideas for other kinds of projects, but I encourage everyone to come with their own topic for the project. During the semester you will have to come up with a project proposal (2% of your final grade), a draft for the project (3% of your final grade), and finally with the project itself by the end of Finals week (20% of your final grade). The deadlines for the proposal and draft are given in the detailed course Schedule at the end of the Syllabus. The proposal and the draft will prepare you to plan and design your own research, while the outcome of the project will help you to relate the issues we learn about to you own background. Attendance and Participation: An integral part of this course are our discussions in the classroom. In order to indeed have discussions that are ours, you have to take part in them. That is why attendance is required in this class. If you have to miss a class please let me know in advance. Beyond attendance, you should always come prepared to class and be engaged in our class room activities. If your participation is unsatisfactory I will reach out to you in private. Then we can address the issues so you can make changes to receive the participation grade you would like to achieve. This also means that as long as I do not contact you about your attendance and participation, you can assume that you are receiving all the 5%. Late Assignments: Short extensions may be granted if you contact me no later than the day before the assignment is due, so please get in touch if you think you may miss a deadline. Otherwise every late day will result in a 10% penalty. 3 Classroom Policies Use of Electronic Devices Please make sure to silence or turn off your phone during class unless you are expecting an emergency call, and please let me know in advance. You are welcome to use laptops, tablets etc for class purposes, such as referring to the readings or taking notes, but please do not use them to check your e-mail, Instagram, Twitter etc. Learning Disabilities If you have a learning disability, please contact Equal Opportunity Services (http://www.cmu.edu/hr/ eos/) and let me know of your needs at the start of the semester. We can then tailor the class to fit your learning preference. Plagiarism and Cheating The work you submit should be your own. In general, you should include a reference if, in your work, you quote someone directly, you paraphrase someone, you use someone else’s idea(s), figure(s), diagram(s), proof(s) etc. As mentioned above, collaboration is allowed, but you must indicate with whom you collaborated. You must not simply copy another student’s work or allow another student to copy your work. Plagiarism or cheating will result a grade of 0 for that assignment, and other appropriate measures, such as sending a letter to the Dean of Students, will be taken. For tips on avoiding plagiarism, please see: http://www.cmu.edu/academic-integrity/ preventing/students.html and http://www.cmu.edu/academic-integrity/index.html for more detailed information about CMU’s policies regarding academic integrity. As understanding and following these academic standards is not always easy or straightforward, please feel free to ask me questions about them or for help to avoid them; during office hours, after class or in email. 4 Schedule Topic Week 1 Tue Thur 1st meeting Propositional Logic Week 2 Tue Thur Week 3 Tue Thur Week 4 Tue Reading Propositional Logic: Meta-theorems Predicate Logic Turing-machines Universal Turing-machines, Halting-problem 1st Problem Set Church-Turing Thesis, Turing’s 1936 Running Time, Resolution Turing: On Computable Numbers (excerpts) Computers and Society I: Fear and Co-operation What is AI? Early AI History Nikolaieff (ed): Computers and Society (excerpts) Crevier: Chapter 2 Week 6 Tue Thur Expert Systems Inheritance Carter: Chapter 13 Brachman and Levesque: Chapter 10 Week 7 Tue Planning Thur Dualism Brachman and Levesque: Chapter 15 Carter: Chapter 2 Week 8 Tue Qualia Thur Behaviourism Thur Week 5 Tue Thur Assignment Due Jackson: What Mary didn’t Know Carter: Chapter 3 5 “Surprise Essay” 2nd Problem Set 3rd Problem Set Week 9 Tue Thur Week 10 Tue Thur Week 11 Tue Functionalism Computers and Society II: Early Computer Art Carter: Chapters 5 and 6 Rosen (ed): Computer’s Arrival in Art (excerpts) Computationalism Movie: Computer Chess Carter: Chapter 10 Computers and Society III: Design and Women -Atkinson: Power Tools -NPR podcast: When Women Stopped Coding Chalmers: Facing up to the Problem of Consciousness Project Proposal 1st Questionnaire 2nd Questionnaire Thur Consciousness Week 12 Tue Chinese Room Thur Turing Test Week 13 Tue Thur Movie: TRON Recap 3rd Questionnaire Finals Week Final Project Searle: Minds, Brains and Programs Moor: An Analysis of the Turing Test 6 Project Draft “I Learned” Essay 7