Admission requirements
Not applicable.
Description
For ages scientists, philosophers, and artists have been fascinated by the idea of “thinking machines”. Over the past decades, computer technology has turned some of these fascinations into reality, to the point where it rapidly enters our daily lives. At the same time many fundamental questions surrounding artificial intelligence remain open. What does it take for a system to be called “intelligent”? And under what conditions can we say that a system “can think”, “has a mind”, or “is creative”? How does artificial intelligence relate to traditional philosophical questions about knowledge and reasoning? And do we ultimately benefit from AI, or is it a threat rather than a blessing? This course discusses such questions trough a series of thematic lectures.
Course Objectives
After the thematic lectures students will be able to:
1. explain what key functions an AI system may be able to perform;
2. understand why AI is used and how it relates to (future) challenges in computer science and society;
3. explain and compare various definitions and fundamental concepts of AI, including weak and strong AI, narrow and general AI, expert systems, machine learning, etc.;
4. link fundamental questions in AI to other fields, such as philosophical debates on epistemology or insights about the evolution and development of intelligence from the cognitive sciences;
5. read, explain and evaluate scientific and philosophical literature regarding computer reasoning, the Turing Test, the Chinese Room Argument, intentionality, generative AI, computational creativity, utopian/dystopian views of AI & society, AI ethics and related topics that are state-of-the-art at the time of teaching the course;
7. debate statements related to the above from different perspectives.
Timetable
You will find the timetables for all courses and degree programmes of Leiden University in the tool MyTimetable (login). Any teaching activities that you have sucessfully registered for in MyStudymap will automatically be displayed in MyTimetable. Any timetables that you add manually, will be saved and automatically displayed the next time you sign in.
MyTimetable allows you to integrate your timetable with your calendar apps such as Outlook, Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and other calendar apps on your smartphone. Any timetable changes will be automatically synced with your calendar. If you wish, you can also receive an email notification of the change. You can turn notifications on in ‘Settings’ (after login).
For more information, watch the video or go the the 'help-page' in MyTimetable. Pleas note: Joint Degree students Leiden/Delft have to merge their two different timetables into one. This video explains how to do this.
Mode of Instruction
The course consists of 2-hour (on-line) lectures, each with a different theme/perspective. Class attendance is compulsory. Students are expected to have studied the reading before each lecture, so that active participation in class can be expected. The timetable and reading material can be found on the course’s Brightspace page. A small reading assignment must be completed before the first class.
Assessment method
The final grade for the course is a weighted average of assignment(s) (25%) and a final exam (75%). Class assignments include an in class homework test (15%) and a written debate assignment (10%). In case assignment(s) are not completed, the grade 1 will be administered. Resits will only be possible for the final exam, not for the assignments.
Reading list
Not applicable.
Registration
From the academic year 2022-2023 on every student has to register for courses with the new enrollment tool MyStudymap. There are two registration periods per year: registration for the fall semester opens in July and registration for the spring semester opens in December. Please see this page for more information. An exemption is the fall semester for 1st year bachelor students, the student administration will enroll this group.
Please note that it is compulsory to register for every exam and retake, at least ten days before the exam. Not being registered for a course means that you are not allowed to participate in the final exam of the course.
Extensive FAQ on MyStudymap can be found here.
Contact
Coordinating lecturers: Peter van der Putten and
Max van Duijn
Onderwijscoordinator Education coordinator LIACS bachelors
Remarks
Not applicable.