CPS 273: Teaching & Learning Machine Ethics
Databases
The following databases are used most often by students studying Philosophy. Use them to search for high-quality research related to your topic. Consider starting with the Philosopher's Index for a specialized approach, or Humanities Full Text for a broader one.
- Arts & Humanities Citation Index (Web of Science) This link opens in a new windowArticles and other text materials published in scholarly journals in the arts and humanities. Subjects covered are the Arts, Humanities, Language (including Linguistics), Poetry, Music, Classical works, History, Philosophy, Archaeology, Architecture, Religion, Television, Theater, and Radio. Covers 1975 to the present.
- Humanities & Social Sciences Index Retrospective (H.W. Wilson) This link opens in a new windowIndexes articles from English-language magazines and academic journals in a wide range of interdisciplinary fields. Covers 1907 to 1984.
- Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson) This link opens in a new windowIndexes over 300 English-language periodicals covering classical studies, history, literature, performing arts, philosophy, and related fields. Covers 1984 to the present.
- Philosopher's Index This link opens in a new windowA comprehensive scholarly database covering books and journals published in all major fields of philosophy since 1940.
- JStor This link opens in a new windowA collection of full-text articles from over 3000 scholarly journals, many dating from the nineteenth-century to the last 4 or 5 years. A growing number of titles are available through the current issues, as part of their "Current Scholarship Program". Select Advanced Search to strategically search amongst 45 disciplines. Choose PDF from within JStor to properly view and print articles. For convenience, JStor is now searchable on Facebook.
- PhilPapers: Philosophical Research Online This link opens in a new windowA comprehensive index of philosophy books and articles. PhilPapers offers unique features such as real-time indexing of pre-prints, fine-grained classification by topic, email alerts, reading lists, advanced search functionality, and discussion forums.
Areas of Interest and Ethical Concerns
- AI/ML
- User Interfaces
- Resources (e.g., minerals, water, electricity)
- Human Labor (e.g., replacement of human labor, hidden laborers)
- Cognitive transformations as languaging beings / linguistic autonomy ● Privacy
- Misinformation
- Fairness/Bias
- Accessibility
- Accountability and Responsibility
- Transparency and Explainability
Topic Description
This topic is twofold:
- Comparing machine thinking: Turing machines define what is computable. How does a Turing machine think? How does deep learning work? What is the relationship between them? Is ChatGPT Turing complete?
- Comparing ethical minds: Which of the minds are capable of ethical and moral reasoning? Can machines have morals and ethics? What would it mean for ethics to be computable? Does ChatGPT have a mind and can it be moral? What is the role of language?
Course Description
This course provides an introduction to some central problems, concepts, and methods of cognitive science and moral psychology. We will address questions concerning the nature of intelligence, the relationship between minds and bodies, and the basis of moral beliefs and behaviors. These explorations will bridge psychology, philosophy, and related fields by taking a fundamentally interdisciplinary perspective.