Critical Approaches to Artificial Intelligence and Network Society

This course addresses the political and cultural dimensions of artificial intelligence and network technologies in a range of global contexts. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates the fields of media and communication studies, critical theory, and the philosophy of technology, course materials will examine the technical and conceptual elements of machine learning, digital automation, and online communication in order to develop an understanding of their social impacts and historical consequences.

Among the topics to be considered are the structure of neural networks and online protocols, the rise of cybernetics as a political logic and technical form, the history of digital logistics and automation, as well as the ethical issues surrounding the widespread installation of these technologies across different sectors of society. Each topic will focus on a different technology, as well as its relation to social inequality, freedom, and diversity.

Students will discuss, evaluate, and critique academic texts, case studies, and artistic works in order to develop complex and critical accounts of contemporary technology, attending both to the planetary character of networked computation as well as its diverse and uneven deployment in various socioeconomic contexts. In addition to mapping histories of cybernetics, internet culture, big data, surveillance, and the algorithm, the course will also consider theories of digitized power and control that have taken shape in relation to economic processes, protest movements, national security, and social life generally.

Learning Objectives:
1. Become familiar with the infrastructures and operations of contemporary digital technologies.
2. Understand the critiques of technologies from a range of academic disciplines.
3. Develop a capacity to analyze the social, cultural, and political dimensions of machine learning and network technologies.
4. Differentiate between distinct histories of technology as well as their socio-political contexts.
5. Articulate the ideological and cultural effects of digital technology in society.

Course Contents:
Week 01. The Digital
a. Digitality and Algorithmic Thinking
b. Cybernetics
Week 02: The Network
a. The Protocol and Network Society
b. From Discipline to Control
Week 03: Data
a. Surveillance and Big Data
b. Learning Machines
Week 04: Artificial Intelligence
a. Artificial Intelligence and Automation
b. Computational Futures