Philosophy of AI (V7099)

15 credits, Level 5

Spring teaching

Artificial intelligence is increasingly embedded in society and shapes many aspects of our lives. Moreover, it is developing at a rapid – and sometimes alarming – pace. 

On this module, you’ll explore some of the ethical and philosophical questions raised by the nature of AI and its growing social and political impact. For example:

• whether artificial intelligence systems think and feel
• how we should treat such systems
• how serious the risks and dangers that they pose are.

You’ll have the opportunity to examine and develop your own positions on these issues. This will help develop your ability to evaluate complex issues in order to navigate uncertainty effectively in your personal and (future) professional life.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 30 hours of contact time and about 120 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2026/27. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

Courses

This module is offered on the following courses:

• History and Philosophy BA
• Philosophy BA
• Philosophy and English BA
• Philosophy and Sociology BA
• Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) BA
• Politics and Philosophy BA