Fall 2025 Graduate Seminar: PHI 630 Philosophy, Technology, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)

PHI 630 Philosophy, Modern Technology, and AI
Modern technology permeates every aspect of our lives. Social media stands in for actual relationships. Technology reduces us to extractable data that yields intimate “recognition,” which makes us exceptionally vulnerable to manipulation and exploitation. Artificial Intelligence (AI) mines, mimics, and mirrors back our emotions, creating “connections” that keep us suspended from reality. Apart from the tremendous potential and benefits of today’s technology, its detrimental facets have also become especially visible, in particular its takeover of our bodies and psychology.

We consider such developments by focusing on resources from the history of philosophy, which have contributed canonical thought about modern technology. For their relevance extends beyond their time to aid us in thinking about today’s technological human condition. We also address the relationship among contemporary philosophical challenges such as that posed by today’s technology, multidisciplinary insights, and philosophy’s past. To this end, we focus on close readings of works by Nietzsche and Heidegger.