Philosophy and technology: the birth of the internet and AI

About this course

The course traces philosophical approaches to technology from Kant’s account of technics and reason through Heidegger, Norbert Wiener and Gilbert Simondon. It considers technology as a mode of revealing, examines control and feedback in cybernetics, and explores how technical objects develop and change. Teaching takes a seminar format, with discussion and debate supported by short excerpts read in class and at home. The course also considers how networks, machines and algorithms affect subjectivity and social structures, and how philosophical texts can be used to examine current questions in technology and media.

What you'll learn

• Explain key philosophical approaches to technology and their historical contexts
• Examine the effects of cybernetics, the internet and artificial intelligence on subjectivity and social structures
• Analyse philosophical texts and apply their ideas to contemporary issues in technology and media

Is this course right for you?

The course is aimed at learners with some familiarity with contemporary continental philosophy. It uses a seminar format, so participation involves listening to and engaging in discussion and debate, alongside reading short supplied texts in class and at home.

• Some familiarity with contemporary continental philosophy is recommended
• Learners should be prepared to consider ideas they may not agree with

Before you go

• Students are expected to complete readings at home each week
• Texts are supplied by the tutor, so there is no expectation to purchase them