Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence

Course Information

Instructor

• Jeff Maynes
• Piskor 109
• Office Hours: TBD
• Email: jmaynes@stlawu.edu

Course Materials

• Carter, Matt. Minds and Machines, 2007. Edinburgh University Press.
• All other readings will be made available on Canvas.

Course Description

Artificial Intelligence has been described as everything from the key to a prosperous human future, to an existential threat to our very survival. This course examines the nature of Artificial Intelligence, exploring what work in the field can tell us about the human mind. Topics include the analogy between the human mind and a computer, philosophical challenges to developing a genuinely artificial intelligence, and the nature and prospects of generative AI technologies (such as ChatGPT) to qualify as intelligent. The course will conclude with an examination of the ethical implications of AI technology, including on misinformation and when implemented in technologies such as self-driving cars.

Course Goals

1. Students will know the central concepts and foundational positions in the philosophy of mind.
2. Students will understand the nature of computation and how it relates to the (possible) nature of the mind.
3. Students will be better able to critically read complex written work, and engage with it critically and analytically.
4. Students will be better able to work with formal concepts of computation.
5. Students will be better able to craft nuanced arguments on complex and technical subjects.
6. Students will be better able to reflect critically on ethical issues surrounding the use of Artificial Intelligence.
7. Students will be a more critical and reflective thinker about the role of artificial intelligence in our lives.

Assignments and Grading

• Participation - 10%
• Homework - 40%
• Research Paper - 30%
• Presentation - 20%

Participation

Participation includes your engagement with the course, both in and out of the classroom. You can demonstrate this engagement in a number of ways, including being prepared for class, asking questions and making contributions in class discussion, discussing questions with me outside of class, and actively working in group work. Having completed the readings before class is an essential element of participation.

The material in this course is not easy, and two essential components of participation are a willingness to make errors, and a compassion for others who make mistakes. This means you should be willing to share your ideas, even if you are not sure they are correct; it also means you should be considerate of how you respond to others.

Your class participation grade also includes completion of the stages of the research paper project (outlines, peer review, and draft).

Rubric

Code of Intellectual Conduct

1. Fallibility Principle – I recognize that I might be wrong.
2. Principle of Charity – I will put the views of others in the best possible light.
3. Truth-Seeking Principle – I will seek truth, not victory.
4. Principle of Clarity - I will be clear and precise in all of my claims.
5. Burden of Proof Principle – If I make a claim, I am obligated to defend it.
6. Response Principle – If a claim is successfully defended, I should believe it. If no claim is successfully defended, I should suspend judgment.

Homework

The core concepts on which the course is based build in a stepwise fashion towards understanding (and evaluating) the position that computers can think, and that artificial intelligence is possible. They are also a mix of philosophical, mathematical, and logical ideas, some of which you will likely be more comfortable with than others. However, without an understanding of each of these steps you will be left with only a superficial understanding of the claim that a computer can possess a mind.

As such, in the first half of the semester you will mostly be working on homework assignments tied to the course readings. You will be graded using a simple scale: Pass or No-Pass. However, earning a pass requires demonstration of mastery of the concept. If you do not pass a homework assignment, I will ask you to continue working on it and to re-submit it. Each homework can be resubmitted one time, and re-submissions are due within one week of getting it back from me.

Your grade will be based on the number of homework assignments you successfully pass, as detailed in the table below:

Research Paper

This paper is a formal philosophical research paper. As such, it should include three central components:

1. An overview of the existing literature and/or review of the arguments of at least one other philosopher you are in dialogue with.
2. A defense of your own view, drawing from relevant evidence in the philosophy of AI, philosophy of mind, computer science, and cognitive psychology.
3. Consideration of possible counter-arguments to your view, along with your response to either refute the counter-arguments, or show how they are consistent with your view.

We are going to try something new for this paper. I am going to provide a list of possible topics, and poll you on your preferred topics. I will then organize research groups for each project. Your research group will have a few formal responsibilities:

• Putting together a shared research bank of sources on your topic area.
• Completing a peer review of the argument draft.
• The group presentation. Otherwise, your research groups are informal networks of fellow students with whom you can share research and drafts. You are each responsible for your own paper, and you can take your own paper in a different direction than the other members of your research group.

This paper must draw on outside research in the philosophy of artificial intelligence (more broadly, in the philosophy of mind), and may also draw on relevant work in related disciplines like computer science and cognitive psychology.

The paper should be approximately 10-12 pages long, double-spaced, and submitted in hard copy. It should be written in a formal tone. The due dates for the stages of this project are (unless otherwise noted, the assignment is due at the beginning of class):

• Your group’s research bank should be completed by March 4th.
• Your research update is due to me by March 16th.
• An outline of your main arguments is due April 1st.
• The peer review of your group’s outlines are due April 8th.
• A draft of the paper will be due April 22nd, at the beginning of class.
• The final version is due May 6th, by 4:30 PM.

More details on the paper and each of the steps described above will be distributed in class.

Rubric

Group Presentation

In the ethics unit, we will first workshop an ethical question before we read a philosophical piece on that question. The aim of these workshops is to help you sort through the complexities and arguments on that issue, better preparing you to understand and critically evaluate the readings. I will lead the first two workshops, which will be designed to be interactive problem-solving sessions, where we (a) identify the moral complexities, (b) brainstorm different possible responses to the question and their supporting arguments, and (c) discuss the strengths and limitations of those arguments.

You will work with a group to lead one of the final four workshops. You are encouraged to use the same approach I do, but you should be prepared to:

• Help the class identify moral complexities to the question. These are difficult problems that resist simple solutions, and so you should think through why some of the simple solutions may not, in fact, be good enough.
• Provide additional background information on the topic to help strengthen our analysis.
• Lead the class in articulating and refining arguments defending various positions in relation to the question, and then in critically discussing them.
• Implement various discussion strategies (small group activities, think-pair-share, group discussions, etc.) to help the class think through the question.

The emphasis for this presentation should be on leading a discussion, and not on lecturing. That is, you should see your group as leading a collective effort to think through a complex problem.

Rubric

Resources

I’ve written several guides to reading, researching, and writing Philosophy papers. I highly recommend you take a look, even if you are a major:

• Reading Philosophy
• Doing Research in Philosophy
• Writing Philosophy

Course Policies

Well-Being Policy

Here are two reasons I care about your well-being. First, a student who feels safe, welcome, and healthy, is a more successful student. If you are well, you’ll learn more. Second, and more importantly, your college experience, including this class, should contribute to a well-lived life. The information we cover, and the skills we practice, are in service to that well-lived life.

In practice, this means that if you are struggling in any way - academically, personally, whatever, please feel encouraged to set up a meeting or stop by my office to chat. I am always willing to listen, and where I can, help.

St. Lawrence also has a host of resources available to you with your intellectual, physical, and emotional wellness. You can find a handy guide to all of these resoruces on the Well-Being Resources page, and through SLU Thrives.

Respect for your classmates

We are a community, and every one of us is a part of it. Contributing to a healthy community is important, both because it affirms that each of us belongs and has a place here at St. Lawrence and in Philosophy courses, but also because we all learn better when we feel we can trust each other. We can trust each other to listen and think carefully about what we say. We can trust each other to value us as people, and to respect our dignity. We can trust each other to challenge us, but to do so with humility, recognizing that we all get things wrong.

As part of upholding this community, I expect that you will:

• Listen attentively while your classmates, or me, are talking.
• Arrive to class on time
• Show respect for your classmates, and avoid making disrespectful comments about their contributions, or showing clearly disrespectful body language in response to them.
• Be welcoming of your classmates ideas and contributions, and avoid making aggressive comments targeting your classmates or any group of people.

Late Assignment Policy

Here’s how I think about due dates: they are there for you. What does that mean? Well, one thing due dates help you do is structure your work, so that you are not hit with too many obligations at the same time. Another is that they help you learn how to work under a deadline, an experience you will have throughout your time at SLU and in your working life. Due dates also help make sure you are prepared for class. My policies on due dates are based on these goals.

Homework assignments are designed to prepare you for class, and so the first submission really needs to be complete in time for the assigned class. If the homework is late, I will still accept it, but you will lose the opportunity to revise it after the first submission.

For the paper, you may need flexiblity. It’s a big project and conflicts with other responsibilities may get in the way. Part of learning how to work under deadlines is planning ahead in a professionally responsible way to get more time. I am willing to grant extensions if you plan ahead and ask for one (at least 24 hours before the paper is due), but will refuse to grant an extension if you regularly ask for one (asking for more time in a professionally responsible way is perfectly reasonable, but developing a habit of needing it is not). When you ask for an extension, please specify how much extra time you will need.

Academic Honesty and AI Use

A major commitment of the University is “to the intellectual development of the student” (St. Lawrence University Aims and Objectives) which can be achieved only by strict adherence to standards of honesty. At St. Lawrence, all members of the community have a responsibility to see that these standards are maintained. Consequently, St. Lawrence University students will not engage in acts of academic dishonesty as described in the Academic Honor Code, contained in the Student Handbook.

As part of this policy, you may not use Generative AI tools (like ChatGPT or Google NotebookLM), except:

1. As part of an exploration of what Generative AI can do and how it operates. That is, you can use it if describing its functioning is part of your work, and you are not representing the outputs of the AI as your own work.
2. As part of a classroom activity or demonstration where you are asked to use it for a specified purpose.
3. Tools designed solely for grammatical improvement on text you have already written (such as Grammarly) are permissible. However, you may not provide text into Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and ask it to rewrite or otherwise fix your text. Similarly, you cannot use Grammarly’s advanced functions (such as those in the Pro version) that suggest and apply rewrites to your text. The difference is this: tools like Grammarly that provide local suggestions to fix particular pieces of writing, and which you can then decide to accept or not, still require you to make decisions about the appropriateness of particular changes, and to see why the change is suggested. Asking a LLM to fix or improve a block of text instead encourages you to trust a more extensive rewriting without understanding why it was rewritten in the way it was, or whether that rewrite improved your essay. Further, these tools often cause problems for philosophical thinking, since they attempt to bring your sentences in line with common ways of speaking which can introduce ambiguities in a precise style of writing like philosophy. You may not always know if your use of a grammatical tool counts as ‘rewriting’ or not - please remember you can always ask me!

Given the theme of this class, we will spend a lot of time talking about the reasons for this policy. The simple version, however, is that (a) LLMs are systematically unreliable in ways that are not always easy to detect; (b) substitution of the work of LLMs for your own work subverts the very purpose of the class, as it denies you an opportunity to learn. (That, after all, is what all this hard work is for).

Accessibility

It is the policy and practice of St. Lawrence University to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you have established permanent accommodations with the Student Accessibility Services (SAS) Office in the past and want to use them in your current courses, please activate your accommodations so you can discuss with your professors how they will be implemented.

If you do not yet have services through the SAS Office but have a disability or temporary health condition that requires accommodations, please contact them directly to start the process of requesting accommodations and to receive guidance with the next steps.

Contact information for Student Accessibility Services: Telephone: 315.229.5537 Email: studentaccessibility@stlawu.edu
Website: https://www.stlawu.edu/offices/student-accessibility-services

Title IX Statement

MEMBERS OF THE ST. LAWRENCE COMMUNITY—students, employees, and guests— should expect to be free from retaliation, discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct, behavior that is inherently abusive of the humanity that each of us brings to the campus community. St. Lawrence University and its faculty are committed to supporting our students and seeking an environment that is free of discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct. St. Lawrence strongly encourages students to report retaliation, discrimination, harassment, including sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, or sexual assault to St. Lawrence University’s Title IX office. Discrimination on the basis of sex includes discrimination on the basis of assigned sex at birth, sex characteristics, pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

If you speak with a faculty member about an incident that involves a Title IX matter or matter of other discrimination or harassment, that faculty member must notify SLU’s Title IX Coordinator that you shared that experience. This is true even if you ask the faculty member not to disclose the incident. Moreover, if you disclose an incident of retaliation, discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct in an academic assignment, the faculty member must also report that experience to the Title IX Coordinator.

Once a report is made, the reporting individual can expect to receive email outreach from the Title IX Coordinator, who will provide resources and possible resolution options. If the impacted person is not a threat to themselves or others, the impacted person will be free not to respond to the offer to meet. You can find more information for resources and reporting options at: https://www.stlawu.edu/offices/title-ix/reporting-options-confidential-and-nonconfidential-resources.

Title IX also protects students who are pregnant or need assistance for pregnancy related conditions. If you are pregnant, the Title IX Coordinator can assist you in understanding your rights and options as well as provide supportive measures. Lindsey Tropper (Cohen) is the Title IX Coordinator at St. Lawrence University (Student Center Room 302; lcohen@stlawu.edu; 315-229-5334).

Calendar

Unit One – Foundational Concepts in the Philosophy of Mind and Computation

Unit Two – Two Directions for AI - GOFAI and Neural Networks

Unit Three – The Ethics of AI