CS 4002 Honors
Program
Robots and Society
Spring 2019
TR 12:00-1:15
Hefner 001
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/classes/AY2019/cs4002hp_spring/
|
Instructor: |
Required
Texts: Roboethics: A Navigating Overview Moral
Machines: Teaching Robots Right From Wrong By Wendell
Wallach and Colin Allen (2009) |
Graduate
TA:
Siddharth Srinivasan,
sidsrini@gatech.edu
Office Hours:
General
Information
Robots and
Society
examines the role and impact of robotics, distributed sensing and actuation,
ubiquitous computing and related technology in society. Robots and Society is
an alternative to Computers in Society (CS 4001), and satisfies the required
course on ethics for Computing majors. Like 4001, it is not a typical computer
science course. Here we are less interested in the technical content of
computing and robots, and focus instead on the effects of such
technology on individuals, organizations, and society, paying close attention
to what your responsibilities are as a computing professional.
There will not
be any programming in this class, but you will do a lot of reading, a lot of
analyzing, and a lot of communicating (both orally and in writing). Although
there are some lectures, this is not a lecture course. Getting the most out of
this course (including the best grade) will require your active participation
throughout the semester. On any given issue, you may be asked to critique
reading assignments from a variety of readings or to summarize group
discussions or positions... but don't worry, it should still be fun.
Objectives
There are
several outcomes for the course. By its end, you should be able to:
·
Communicate and
argue coherently with others about technology and its impacts both in writing
and orally
·
Engage in the
global debate on the ethical issues that arise from robotic technology,
identifying the salient issues and evaluating the reasoning behind them
·
Achieve and
demonstrate a more than adequate writing ability
·
Understand and explain
the consequences of your profession on individuals, organizations, and society.
·
Understand and
explain the importance of all these issues
You will be
challenged to broaden your understanding by learning something of the history
of robotics, the similarities and differences in public attitudes and policies
concerning robotics in the U.S. and in other countries. Some of these issues
are unique to robotics; others arise in the context of computing in general as
well as in other technologies; still others are new manifestations of more
general ethical, political and constitutional law issues.
You will have
ample opportunity to analyze critically various situations and descriptions in
papers, books, on the web, and from your own observations.
You will be
able to practice your ability to communicate by writing coherent and
well-structured critiques of situations and papers, researching and organizing
a longer paper, and leading and participating in class discussions and debates.
A detailed
topical outline is given below. The actual schedule is available as well.
1. Techniques of
Rhetoric and Logical Argumentation. Arguments as claims supported by
reasons. Types of argument concerning the social consequences
of robotics and the aptness of robotics-related policies. Evidence, authority, and the anticipation and rebuttal of
objections. Communicating with professional peers, customers, and the
public.
2. Ethical
Foundations.
Rules as the basis for policymaking and legislation relevant
to robotics; software as a mechanism for encoding and enforcing business
practices, and norms of conduct. Consequences as the basis for
policymaking and design decisions: Assessing and balancing the benefits and
costs of alternatives to stakeholders. Virtue ethics as the
basis for professional conduct and resolution of moral dilemmas (e.g.
whistle-blowing). Asimov's Laws.
3. Societal and
Cultural Variations in Robotics Acceptance. Astroboy vs
Frankenstein.
4. Privacy. Personal information, its disclosure and misuse. Surveillance and changing interpretations of the Fourth Amendment.
5. Robotics and
Jobs.
Impact of revolutionary technological changes on employment.
6. Robotics and Defense. Ethical implications of machines that kill or assist in killing.
Mixed initative and rank.
Lethal force.
7. Entertainment
Robots.
Manipulation of the individual through affect in consumer
robotics. Robot pets. The illusion of life. Dehumanization and deterioration of humanitys
social fabric.
8. Medical and
Assistive Robotics: Human Augmentation and enhancement. Cyborgs.
9. Sexual activity
and robotics.
Robot partners. Robot marriage.
10. Religion and
Intelligent Machines.
11. Robots as
Intelligent Beings. Rights related to robots. Robot slavery
and society. Robot aspirations.
12. Professional
Responsibility. Professions as more than jobs requiring
expertise. Intelligent System design compared to established
professions. Professional codes of conduct, their validity, effectiveness
and scope. Social responsibility and personal and
corporate accountability and liability for harm.
Teaching
this Course
The primary
purpose of this course is to help you develop into a responsible and effective
professional, and that means having a basic understanding of and sensitivity to
the ethical issues and principles of our field.
This is not
going to happen with a professor lecturing at you about Kant (although this
will happen as it turns out). As is the case in most courses, this is less
about teaching and more about learning. Our role is to assist you in this
process, and to provide enough structure so that a class of 25 students can do
this effectively.
If we think in
terms of data structures, the fundamental one here is the thoughtful dialogue.
We will make extensive use classroom discussions and writing assignments. You
will be given many opportunities to express your positions on a variety of
situations where robotics is having or may one day have an impact. Equally, you
will be expected to read and listen critically to the arguments of others, and
to demonstrate that you have done so.
This is not a
debate course. The goal is not to persuade others with your rhetorical
skill--though you will develop the skills to do so--nor is it to
"win" the argument. The goal is to gain a better appreciation and
understanding of how robotics is changing society and what your
responsibilities should be as an effective professional.
In line with
this, you are entitled to your opinions on these topics, whatever they happen
to be. You will not be penalized for your positions even when we might think
said position is insane; however, you must be able to support your
arguments effectively. This means showing that you have actually given a
position some thought and can discuss the various trade-offs and implications
of the position you have chosen. This also means that you should be able take
any side of an issue and explain it and argue for it sympathetically, even
though your personal views may be different.
Disclaimer
We reserve the
right to modify any of these plans as need be during the course of the class;
however, we will not do anything capriciously, anything that is changed will
not be too drastic, and you will be informed as far in advance as possible.