Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence: Foundations

About the course

This course is an introduction to central philosophical issues about the foundations of artificial intelligence. It focuses on questions like: What is intelligence? How will the intelligence of artificial systems be different from ours? Will they be capable of thinking? Can artificial systems be conscious? What is the difference between symbolic reasoning machines and connectionist networks? How does deep learning work? Should we try to mimic the human mind when developing intelligent machines? When (if ever) will superintelligent machines occur? And what are the philosophical implications of simulating our own minds in machines? The main focus will be on foundational texts from philosophy and the study of artificial intelligence.