Course content

This course is about developing and applying critical perspectives from the humanities on new and emerging digital technologies, currently mostly related to artificial intelligence. The course addresses case studies of selected AI interfaces and controversies, exploring the link of these technologies’ historical roots and contemporary mediated practices. The purpose is to develop analytical and methodological tools to discuss and question AI technologies critically. This will further provide a deepened understanding to see how digitalization provides not only new and expanding challenges and issues but also how it permeates and intensifies existing concerns within the humanities and what makes humanities indispensable for our understanding of AI. This is done through thematic organized project work.

This is a subject area course (områdeemne) within the humanities and arts. The generic theme is technology.

Learning outcome

Knowledge

Students who complete this course have knowledge of:

• historical, recent, and emerging digitalization processes and their consequences for organization and knowledge development
• controversies and criticisms aimed at digitalization processes and AI technologies.
• how humanities can contribute to the knowledge of digitalization processes and AI technologies

Skills

Students who complete this course have skills in:

• how to analyze digitalization processes and AI technologies
• how to critically evaluate technological and social changes related to digitalization and AI technologies.
• how to formulate a problem on a given subject and answer it through project work

General competence

Students who complete this course have:

• cooperation skills through project work in groups

Learning methods and activities

The first half of the semester is based on lectures followed by a period of seminar training, where the students work on a project in groups. The project is presented in the end.

Compulsory activities:

• Project outline / project plan (in groups)
• Weekly logs during the project period (in groups)
• Presentation of the project (in groups)
• Minimum 80% participation in seminars is required.

Compulsory activities during the seminar-training are conducted in groups. In order to take the exam, approval of compulsory activities and 80 % participation in seminars are required. Compulsory activity is only valid in the semester the subject is taken and the following semester.

This course may be taught in Norwegian or English, pending staff availability.

Students are obliged to keep updated on information from department / course instructor in Blackboard.

Compulsory assignments

• Compulsory tasks
• Compulsory tasks

Required previous knowledge

None.

Credit reductions