Honors 360
Sections 005 & 006
Aquia 213
| Office: Horizon Hall 4163 Office Hours: M 12N - 1:15 & T 1:30-2:45 Email dtaciuch |
Course Description
The quest for artificial intelligence has led to many types of “narrow AI,” most of which are better than humans at their specific skills (from playing games to predicting the structure of a protein). But the goal for much AI research is Artificial General Intelligence, or AGI. A narrow AI may be able to crive a car, for example, but it can’t play chess, or answer a trivia question. An AGI could. Much of the AI scholarship has been on the risks of AI development: misaligned values, ethical dilemmas, economic concerns. But the rewards are immense: longer, healthier lives, more stable governments, more equitable societies, a cleaner environment, and the exploration of our universe. This course will explore current and future ethical questions of AI development, including questions of human values and identity.
Course Goals
Honors 360 is a Mason Core Synthesis course.
The purpose of the synthesis course is to provide students with the opportunity to synthesize the knowledge, skills and values gained from the Mason Core curriculum. Synthesis courses strive to expand students' ability to master new content, think critically, and develop life-long learning skills across the disciplines. . . .
A Mason Core synthesis course must address outcomes 1 and 2, and at least one outcome under 3. Upon completing a synthesis course, students will be able to
- Communicate effectively in both oral and written forms, applying appropriate rhetorical standards (e.g., audience adaptation, language, argument, organization, evidence, etc.)
- Using perspectives from two or more disciplines, connect issues in a given field to wider intellectual, community or societal concerns
- Apply critical thinking skills to
- Evaluate the quality, credibility and limitations of an argument or a solution using appropriate evidence or resources, OR,
- Judge the quality or value of an idea, work, or principle based on appropriate analytics and standards.
The essays, discussions, and presentations in this course are designed to meet these goals. You will be required to read, evaluate, analyze, and synthesize material from several disciplines and present your analysis in essays and oral presentations.
Texts:
Print:
Nick Bostrom. Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies.
Susan Schneider. Artificial You: AI and the Future of Your Mind
Online:
Philosophers on GPT-3 (Daily Nous)
Chalmers, "Facing Up to the Problem of Consciousness"
Cummings, "Lethal Autonomous Weapons: Meaningful human control or meaningful human certification?"
Course Site:
We will use Blackboard for online discussions and assignment submissions.
Assignments:
The assignments in this course consist of a research proposal and outline, weekly reading responses, a chapter summary, and a final research paper. All assignments are described on BlackBoard.
All of the assignments in the course are individual assignment except for the Group Research Report. Although the Research paper is an individual assignment, you will also work in small groups with similar research interests in order to share sources, ideas, and questions with others who are researching similar topics.
| Research Proposal | Week 4 (February 19) | 10% |
| Chapter Summary and Class Discussion | Weeks 4 – 13 | 15% |
| Evidence Analysis | Week 11 (April 9) | 15% |
| Final Paper Outline | Week 12 (April 16) | 10% |
| Research Group Report | Weeks 14 – 15 | 15% |
| Final paper | Week 15 (May 6) | 20% |
| Weekly discussions | most weeks before class | 15% |
Course Policies
COVID Policy:
Masks: Mason campuses are mask-optional.
For updates and more information, go to Mason Covid Updates.
Grading: Grades will be based primarily on the quality of the writing. I value clear, focused writing with plenty of examples. Grades on the research essay will be based on the quality of the research as well: I expect you to use the GMU Library databases as well as the Internet.
Late Assignments: Late assignments will
lose 5% per day unless you make prior arrangements with
me.
Revision Policy: The assignments may be revised for a higher grade,
but they must be substantially revised. You cannot lose a grade by
revising, but a higher grade is not guaranteed. If you plan to revise an assignment, please
see me beforehand so we can discuss a revision strategy.
All revisions must be turned in by April 30
Plagiarism: Plagiarism means using the exact words, opinions, or factual information from another source without giving that source credit. Writers give credit through the use of accepted documentation styles, such as parenthetical citation, footnotes, or end notes; a simple listing of books, articles, and websites is not sufficient.
Writers must include a Works Cited or References list at the end of their essay, providing full bibliographic information for every source cited in their essay, including the course textbooks.
Instructors at George Mason University are bound to uphold the George Mason Honor Code, which requires us to report any suspected instances of plagiarism to the Honor Committee. All judgments about plagiarism are made after careful review by the Honor Committee, which may issue penalties ranging from grade-deductions to course failure to expulsion from GMU.
Important Dates
| First day of classes | Monday January 23 |
| Last day to add classes– all individualized section forms due | Monday January 30 |
| Last day to drop with no tuition penalty | Monday February 6 |
| Unrestricted Withdrawal Period (100% tuition liability) | Tuesday February 14 – |
| Midterm progress reporting | Monday February 20 – Friday March 24 |
| Selective Withdrawal Period (100% tuition liability) | Tuesday February 28 – Monday April 3 |
| Spring Break | Monday March 13 – Sunday March 19 |
| Last Day of classes | Saturday May 6 |
| Reading Days Reading days provide students with additional study time for final examinations. Faculty may schedule optional study sessions, but regular classes or exams may not be held. |
Monday May 8 – Tuesday May 9 |
| Exam Period | Wednesday May 10 – Wednesday May 17 |
This work is licensed under a Creative
Commons License.