CS009: Computers and Human Values
A First-Year Seminar at Brown University
Department of Computer Science
Roger B. Blumberg
Last Update: 12/13/02

Schedule of Classes || CS009 Reference Page || The Final Exam

Introduction:

One of the most fascinating aspects of technological innovation is the way it can transform not only the lives and practices of individuals and institutions, but also the accepted language for thinking about and evaluating those lives and practices. Electronic mail, to take a simple example, has transformed both the practice of correspondence in many societies, and the standards by which many people now evaluate written communication. Indeed, for those who grow up after these transformations have taken place, the older languages or standards for evaluation may seem antiquated, ridiculous, or even incomprehensible.

In this course we will read contemporary works motivated by recent developments in computer science (robotics, networks, and computer security) and will find that each book raises fundamental questions not only about the future of computing, but the future of societies and human beings as well. Although the technological developments that prompt these questions may be new, the questions themselves are not -- most have been debated and written about by students and scholars for hundreds if not thousands of years. In this course, therefore, the contemporary visions will be followed in each unit by texts written in times different than our own, that raise (and answer) the same question in different ways. We'll conclude each unit with a second contemporary reading, and discuss whether/how our attitudes about either the question or the answer(s) have changed in light of having tied these contemporary works to a historical or philosophical tradition.

Requirements:

Every student is required to read and contribute to our discussions of the texts. A short paper that summarizes your response to the texts and your own answer(s) to the unit's fundamental question(s) will be due at the conclusion of each unit (i.e. three short papers are required). There will be a three-hour final exam that will require you to write several (very) short essays. All of the required texts are available at the Brown University Bookstore, and they and the secondary readings will be on reserve in the Library. This syllabus will serve as a link to electronic texts, both required and recommended.

Where and When:

CS009 will meet in 506 CIT, in the Computer Science Department, on Mondays and Wednesdays from 1-2:30. My office is 502 CIT and though I'm in most mornings, my office office hours for the course are Monday and Wednesday, from 2:30-4:00. My office phone number is x37619 and I can be reached most easily by e-mail at rbb@brown.edu.

Syllabus:

Part One | Part Two | Part Three


(September 4th through October 2nd)
Part One: Who Am I?; or, The Triumph of Robotics and the Nature of Our Humanity.

September 4: Introduction to CS009. Why a First-Year Seminar? Why a First-Year Seminar about "computers and values"? Why mix readings new and old? Why so many questions?

September 9: Reading Moravec I: Reading for the plot, reading for the argument, and reading for the rhetoric. What are Moravec's theses and how/why does he use Darwin? How is "intelligence" produced by computation? What is the relationship between (measures of) computing power and (measures of) human intelligence?

September 11: Reading Moravec II: Moravec's 1988 vision in 2002. (How) Does embodiment figure in your thinking about human intelligence, human emotion, and other human qualities? Why "Grandfather Clause"? What is "Life"? Where does computer science end and cognitive science begin, and what about "brain science"?

September 16: Moravec III: Complexity, Simulation, Explanation, Justification, Robopets, Respect, and Otherness (!). Continuing (and concluding) our discussions inspired by the last chapters of Moravec and the Robopet exercise, we'll question the nature/measure of complexity, the relationship between simulating and explaining a natural phenomenon, and the justification of ethical judgements.

September 18: The Human Condition I: What might Arendt's response to Moravec have been? Is it reasonable to compare texts written at different times with such different points of view/departure? What are Arendt's theses and how to they relate to your sense/experience of the essence(s) of humanity? (How is your experience of reading Arendt, a more "difficult" book, different than your experience of reading Moravec?)

September 23: The Human Condition II: What is Arendt's theory of the Public and the Private? (How) Does her use of writers like Aristotle, Locke, Rousseau and Machiavelli contribute to her argument(s)? How does her view of the the role/essence of the Social compare with your own?

September 25: The Human Condition III: What is "alienation" and why/how does Arendt speak of it in discussing the "Modern Age"? How does Arendt's concept of "thought" compare with the way "thought" was discussed in Moravec (and could a robot be capable of "thought" in this sense)? How do Arendt's and Moravec's assessments of the future compare from the point of view of "experience"?

September 30: The Post-Human Condition I: What is Hayle's theory of what characterizes the "post-human" and (how) does it "explain" features of (your) contemporary life? Which of the issues raised by Moravec are addressed by Hayles' view(s)? Which of the issues raised by Arendt are addressed by Hayles?

October 2: The Post-Human Condition II: What is your interpretation of "a version of the posthuman that embraces the possibilities of information technologies without being seduced by fantasies of unlimited power and disembodied immortality, that recognizes and celebrates finitude as a condition of human being, and that understands human life is embedded in a material world of great complexity, one on which we depend for our continued survival?"

Required Texts for Part One:

Secondary Readings:


(October 7th through October 30th):
Part Two: How Should We Live?; or, The Networked Society and the Nature of Democracy.

October 7th: Cherny I: The New Deal, The Next Deal and the political implications of the Internet. What is the significance of computer networks in a democracy? (How) Has "cyberspace" transformed political institutions/consciousness according to Cherny? What is the meaning of Croly's "Jeffersonian ends by Hamiltonian means?"

October 9th: Cherny II: Technology, Politics and Individualism Old & New. What do you think of Cherny's argument for a "Next Deal"? What difference does the technology make in thinking about "choice" and "Hamiltonian ends by Jeffersonian means"?

October 16th: Lippmann I: The World of Public Opinion. How does Lippmann's text exemplify the qualities Hayles (and others) attribute to "the liberal subject"? What aspects of Lippmann's analysis does Cherny ignore/deny/contradict, and to whom are you more sympathetic?

October 21st: Lippmann II: Democracy and "old" Media. How does the history of media inform discussions of politics, and specifically of democracy? What is the meaning and significance of "the manufacture of consent?" Can Lippmann speak to "a generation found in cyberspace"?

October 23rd: Lippmann III: Our World and Public Opinion. How does Lippmann's "Buying Public" compare with our own? How does Lippmann's characterization of the (contemporary) public realm compare with Arendt's? How does Lippmann's use of Jefferson and Hamilton compare with Cherny's? If you rewrote Lippmann's book today, what would you omit, revise, add?

October 28th: Sunstein I: The Digital, the "Daily Me", and the Requirements of Democracy. How does Sunstein's characterization of the essentials of democracy compare with Cherny and Lippmann? Is there politics on campus and does it reflect Sunstein's concerns? What is wrong with Cherny's "choice" perspective according to Sunstein?

October 30th: Sunstein II: The Future of Public Life and Public Opinion. What is the connection between computer networks and the "free speech principle" that Sunstein is worried about? Do Sunstein's proposals (in ch. 8) strike you as reasonable/desirable? Are there better proposals and constructions that would solve the problems he envisions? Can/should academic computer science do anything in the public realm?

Required Reading:

Secondary Reading:


(November 4th through December 4th):
Part Three: What Should I Do?; or, Computers and the Nature of Ethics.

November 4: Spinello I: "The Acquisition of Information" and an introduction to Information Ethics. What is an "ethical question"? an "ethical dilemma"? Is there anything special about the ethical issues raised by technology? by information technology?

November 6: Spinello II: Approaches to Ethics. What is an ethical theory and how do we evaluate a theory of ethics as compared to a theory in physics?

November 11: Spinello III: Ethical Questions in Information Access and Stewardship. Can a single ethical theory be applied to all of the cases we're discussing today and yield desirable results? Is this a reasonable way to evaluate the "truth" of such a theory?

November 13: Kant I: The Nature of Ethics and the Place of the Moral. What is the difference between moral and legal principles and laws? How are actions to be evaluated from a moral perspective? Does any of this Kantian business have application to practical situations like those described in Spinello?

November 18: Kant II: Ethics, Religion and the Question of Justification. What does Kant mean by the "intrinsic quality of actions"? Is belief in G-d a sufficient foundation for a consistent and practical ethics? How does Kant's sense of "duty" compare with your own?

November 20: Kant III: Duties, Drives and Alternatives to Kant's Theory. What would Moravec and Hayles make of all this? What about Cherny and Lippmann? To what extent does Kant's theory depend on a belief in a "human destiny" of some sort? To what extent does it depend on there being humans (as opposed to robots or post-humans)?

November 25: Kant IV: Kant's Ethical Theory. What is the origin of moral law and how do we come to know it? What role does conscience play in moral action and what role does the divine play in our understanding of conscience? In reasoning about moral action, what sorts of things should we consider?

December 2: Nietzsche I: Philosophy, Philosophers, and Truth. What and/or Whom is upsetting Nietzche so much? What are the "prejudices of philosophers" that keep them from knowing (the) truth even as they claim to search for it? How does the relationship between religion and morals here differ from Kant's view of that relationship?

December 4: Nietzsche II: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future(?). How does (and how should) history influence our sense of the good, the true, and what we take to be justification of moral principles? Would a "Nietzschean" view of the issues raised by the case studies we've already read be any different from the Kantian view?

December 9: Nietzsche III: Morals and the Modern Age. What is left of a Kantian approach to ethics after Nietzsche? How can Beyond Good and Evil be read as a philosophy for/of the 20th century? How does Nietzsche's view of the relationship between good, evil and power compare with your own?

December 13: Final Exam: The final exam will be available on the Web by 5 p.m. (the location will be mailed to the class list at that time), and is due by noon on Saturday. The third paper is due along with the final exam.

Required Reading:

Secondary Reading:



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