Homework will consist of weekly readings and a discussion. Students will meet in groups of three or four each week to discuss and debate points from the readings, and will turn in a brief report writing up the key takeaways from the meeting. Were there agreements and disagrements? What seemed most important to your group? We invite "intellectual hospitality" to hear and try to understand different points of view.
If you anticipate having to hand in your assignment late, please mail the staff in advance to request it and extensions are available.
The one lowest homework grade will be dropped during the semester, for computing the final grade.
The Techno-Optimist Manifesto - Marc Andreessen
Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task - Nataliya Kosmyna, Eugene Hauptmann, Ye Tong Yuan, Jessica Situ, Xian-Hao Liao, Ashly Vivian Beresnitzky, Iris Braunstein, and Pattie Maes
What does "Image of God" mean? - Pete Enns
"Human Dignity in the Jewish Tradition" - Yair Lorberbaum.
The Future of Artificial Intelligence and Human Dignity - Rosalind Picard
Wearables and Human Flourishing, Barczi & Picard
Example of class final project, Caitlin Morris
Your homework for week two will require you to read these papers and meet with a group from the class, outside of classtime, for ~1.5 hours to discuss these readings. We will email you group assignments for the discussion. You might find it useful to structure the conversation by asking the following conversations:
What did you like about the ideas presented in the readings?
How did the author support their points? Were the ideas useful? Interesting? How? Or if not, why not?
Did you come upon ideas that might inform your own work? Which and how?
How do the ideas move forward the notion of what it means to be human or the basis of human dignity?
What do you think it means to be human, and to have human dignity?
Remember to honor the class policy on Confidentiality.
Your written assignment is to submit (1) a confirmation that your group meeting took place; and (2) a less than one page description of your project ideas. (Two or three ideas, very rough, are fine). If you have a question or two that you'd like to continue exploring related to the intersection of the readings and science/technology advances, then feel free to add that as well.
Email your half-page report by 4pm Monday Feb 9 to betterfuture-staff (at) media.mit.edu.
NOTE: No class on February 17, when MIT observes a Monday schedule. You have two weeks to do this work: Please book to meet w/your discussion group (we'll email assignments).
Read the readings below, which cover three kinds of ethical frameworks before your group meeting. While we'll go deeper into these topics later in the class (we will discuss them on April 21), we want you to read them and start discussing them with your classmates while you're also thinking about frameworks for your project area.
John Locke, Second Treatise on Government, Excerpts
John-Jacque Rousseau, The Social Contract, Excerpts
Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Excerpts
Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Excerpts
Julia Annas, "What is Virtue Ethics For?" on the Philosophy Bites Podcast (note: if you are interested in Virtue Ethics, Annas' relatively short book Intelligent Virtue is a good introduction and modern account)
You are encouraged to use these questions to shape your group discussions:
a) The readings above represent some of the foundational ethical theories in the west, covering the Enlightenment project and (in Aristotle) a branch of ethical thought called virtue ethics. What are some of the common threads connecting them?
b) Where does Lincoln's address seem to fit among the other readings? What sets it apart on its own, if anything?
c) Which of these models (if any) do you find personally compelling, and why (or, if none - why not)? How might they help with a project topic that you're thinking of?
Search online for more readings related to your project interests. Make a one page document citing these with a couple lines describing each (and a link to it if possible online).
Prepare 3-4 slides that describe two ideas you have for your class project. Consider: What is the area of science, technology, architecture/environment or "building" of a better future that you are interested in addressing? What ethical-philosophical-religious frameworks interest you most in digging deeper to explore how they apply to your area? What are two questions you are most interested in trying to answer through your project ideas? You will have ten minutes in class to present. Our class will discuss the topic in an effort to help you with shaping your project plan.
Send your slides, 1 page bibliography of things you've been reading, and the time when your group met to betterfuture-staff (at) media.mit.edu by the deadline above.
Interact with the technology FutureYou and read some of the articles of people's experiences with the project Future You, e.g. Wall Street Journal recent piece on "AI Has Shown Me My Future. Here's What I've Learned"
We need to prepare for addictive intelligence - Robert Mahari and Pat Pataranutaporn
Addictive Intelligence: Understanding Psychological, Legal, and Technical Dimensions of AI Companionship - Robert Mahari and Pat Pataranutaporn
Grieving Mother: AI was the stranger in my home | Dear Tomorrow (Youtube)
JUST SKIM: How AI and Human Behaviors Shape Psychosocial Effects of Extended Chatbot Use: A Longitudinal Randomized Controlled Study - Cathy Mengying Fang, Auren R. Liu, Valdemar Danry, Eunhae Lee, Samantha W.T. Chan, Pat Pataranutaporn, Pattie Maes, Jason Phang, Michael Lampe, Lama Ahmad, Sandhini Agarwal
SB-243 Companion chatbots legislation
"Death" of a Chatbot: Investigating and Designing Toward Psychologically Safe Endings for Human-AI Relationships - Rachel Poonsiriwong, Chayapatr Archiwaranguprok, Pat Pataranutaporn
We will email you a new group assignment. Your primary assignment this week is to decide which of your two project ideas you will work on this semester. For this reason, this week we encourage your groups to discuss your project ideas. In this discussion, imagine you have completed a paper on your final project. What 1 or 2 well-defined questions do you wish to have dug deeply into and answered? Which ethical-philosophical-religious framework would you like to explore applied to this area?
Send the time when your group met to betterfuture-staff (at) media.mit.edu by the deadline above. Include also a paragraph, related to your project, telling us which project you have chosen, and describing what you think you most need help with to further focus it and frame it. Continue to search online for readings and work related to your project ideas. You are encouraged to also schedule time with Roz, Sherry, or Nathan to discuss your project ideas during the week.
Please put "BetterFuture" in the subject of the email (no space between the words - it helps us with email filtering). Also put your name inside the file you attach, and also name the file with your name: Lastname-firstname.{pdf,docx}
Remember to honor the class policy on Confidentiality.
Reclaiming Conversation in the Age of AI - Haidt's substack After Babel on Sherry Turkle's book
Do Artifacts have Politics? - Langdon Winner
Silicon Valley Fairy Dust - Sherry Turkle
Meet with the group you were assigned last week, in person (if at all possible) and "reclaim conversation". Tell us when you met.
Work with the group to prepare a couple questions for the time with Sherry this week -- it can build on the three readings this week, or build on the conversation she led with Pat last class. Gather at least one question per group member. Write the one you will ask here.
Jot a few sentences about something you learned from one of your group members during this discussion (you do not need to name them.)
When it comes to social interaction with people: What is a better future with AI to you? Write a short paragraph that expresses your feelings on this topic.
Please put "BetterFuture" in the subject of the email (no space between the words - it helps us with email filtering). Also put your name inside the file you attach, and also name the file with your name: Lastname-firstname.{pdf,docx}
Be sure to schedule time with the course staff to meet and discuss your project.
Utilitarianism (excerpt), John Stuart Mill
An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (excerpts), Jeremy Bentham
The Reluctant Prophet of Effective Altruism, Gideon Lewis-Kraus
The Rise of Silicon Valley’s Techno-Religion, Cade Metz
It Makes Sense That People See A.I. as God, Joseph Bernstein
Is our obsession with innovation causing a humanity deficit?, Margarita Louis-Dreyfus
Meet with the group you were assigned last week, in person (if at all possible). Tell us when you met.
Jot a few sentences about something you learned from one of your group members during this discussion (you do not need to name them.)
Discuss: do you have any initial reactions to the readings on utilitarianism (just briefly!)?
What are your hopes for how AI may be of benefit to society? How do you find these hopes enhancing your expectations for humanity itself. How, on the other hand, do you find them mitigating pessimism about humanity? Write a short paragraph that expresses your feelings on this topic.
Please put "BetterFuture" in the subject of the email (no space between the words - it helps us with email filtering). Also put your name inside the file you attach, and also name the file with your name: Lastname-firstname.{pdf,docx}
Be sure to schedule time with the course staff to meet and discuss your project.
When Are We Obligated to Edit Wild Creatures?, Kevin Esvelt
The Tails Coming Apart as Metaphor for Life, Scott Alexander
The Character of Computation, Kevin Esvelt
Please send us a one-page (or less) plan for your project. Please send this to us by Monday, March 23. Please include:
Your project topic;
A brief description of your methodology;
Your next steps and a brief timeline;
Any unanswered questions you have about ideas you should be exploring, methods to pursue, etc. (and please schedule time with at least one instructor to get advice!);
Your bibliography as it currently stands.
Meet with the group you were assigned last week, in person (if at all possible). Tell us when you met.
Jot a few sentences about something you learned from one of your group members during this discussion (you do not need to name them.)
This week's readings take a very different perspective than many we have looked at so far. Discuss: what is one idea or insight from the readings that either challenges or amplifies most compllingly your convictions about what would make for a better future?
Please put "BetterFuture" in the subject of the email (no space between the words - it helps us with email filtering). Also put your name inside the file you attach, and also name the file with your name: Lastname-firstname.{pdf,docx}