Media and film studies

AI, Culture and Society

Module code: P5085
Level 5
15 credits in spring semester
Teaching method: Seminar
Assessment modes: Coursework

You will study past and present discourses about artificial intelligence and consider the role that computational technologies play in the study of the mind, perception and experience.

After discussing and analysing some of the main concepts, topics and strands in AI research, you’ll focus on the ways in which artificial intelligence impacts modern culture and society, as well as its many contemporary applications and implementations.

You will also consider the ways in which cultural and societal issues, and representations of cognitive activity, might inform present understandings of (and possibilities for) ‘smart’ technologies.

Module learning outcomes

• Critically understand some of the main debates and concepts in AI research, and comprehend how and why these debates and concepts feed into digital media culture
• Recognise some of the key ethical, political, and economic implications of the scale and speed of contemporary AI devices and systems
• Evaluate artificial intelligence as a socio-cultural form
• Initiate and communicate a critical analysis of the cultural and societal impact and implications of ‘smart’ technologies in the twenty-first century