CORE067 Roboethics: from RUR to Artificial Intelligence

Faculty of Science
Autumn 2023
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Taught partially online.
Teacher(s)
PhDr. David Černý, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
PhDr. David Černý, Ph.D.
Department of Experimental Biology – Biology Section – Faculty of Science
Contact Person: prof. RNDr. Renata Veselská, Ph.D., M.Sc.
Supplier department: Department of Experimental Biology – Biology Section – Faculty of Science
Timetable
Thu 12:00–13:50 B11/335
Prerequisites
This course has no prerequisites.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
The capacity limit for the course is 200 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 66/200, only registered: 0/200, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/200
Course objectives
This course aims to introduce students to the fundamentals of AI ethics. Artificial intelligence is increasingly a part of our lives and affects us and society as a whole. The use of AI comes with various benefits but, unfortunately, also increasingly serious risks. Therefore, students must be familiar with the challenges of AI and aware of the threats associated with it. One of the course aims is to contribute to students' algorithmic literacy.
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to: - describe the basic types of artificial intelligence and robots - understand the basics of artificial intelligence and compare it with human intelligence - critically use basic tools of ethical analysis - define existential risks and apply them to the development and use of artificial intelligence - describe the risks associated with general artificial intelligence and superintelligence and realistically assess them - describe the benefits and risks of using artificial intelligence - apply ethical analysis to all relevant application areas of artificial intelligence - identify cognitive biases and their reinforcement by artificial intelligence - develop critical tools associated with algorithmic literacy - understand the basic problems of the philosophy of AI (ontology, epistemology, etc.) - use the tools of human rights theory and apply them to the different areas of human existence and coexistence with machines
Syllabus
  • 1. Basic concepts (intelligence, artificial, human, types of artificial intelligence)
  • 2. Superintelligence and existential risks
  • 3. Basic ethical concepts and theories
  • 4. Ethics of autonomous vehicles
  • 5. Ethics of military robots
  • 6. Ethics of social robots and sexbots
  • 7. Critical thinking in the era of artificial intelligence
  • 8. Algorithmic literacy
  • 9. Philosophy of artificial intelligence (personal identity, uploads, cyborgs)
  • 10. AI in a broader context (climate change, political philosophy)
  • 11. Human rights, machine rights
  • 12. Creativity, art and artificial intelligence
Literature
    recommended literature
  • TEGMARK, Max. Life 3.0. Praha: Agro, 2020. info
  • RUSSELL, Stuart. Human Compatible. Praha: Argo, 2021. info
  • ORD, Toby. Nad propastí : existenční riziko a budoucnost lidstva. Translated by Anna Štádlerová. Vydání první. Praha: Argo, 2022, 480 stran. ISBN 9788025737798. info
  • Robot ethics 2.0 : from autonomous cars to artificial intelligence. Edited by Patrick Lin - Ryan Jenkins - Keith Abney. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017, xiii, 421. ISBN 9780190652951. info
  • SHANAHAN, Murray. The technological singularity. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 2015, xxiii, 244. ISBN 9780262527804. info
  • LIAO, Matthew (ed.). Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. New York: Oxford University Press, 2020.
Teaching methods
Lectures, instructional videos, classroom discussions, reading recommended literature
Assessment methods
Online colloquium via MS Teams (capacity 6 students for each colloquium term, duration 90 minutes). In a given term before the colloquium, each student has to provide a brief description of his/her chosen ethical dilemma from the topics discussed in the course. More detailed instructions for preparing these texts for the colloquium will be posted during the first week of the semester. Before the colloquium, students will read each other's texts and discuss them during the colloquium.
If a registered student does not submit his/her text prior to the colloquium, if the submitted text is identified as being not original, if the student is unable to discuss his/her own text, if the student does not engage in discussion, or if the student is found to be fundamentally ignorant of the topics covered during the course, the student will fail.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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