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"
[More readings to come]
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.