UC Berkeley
“Artificial Intelligence & Society: The Promises and Limits of Technological Futures”

Little of our lives today remains untouched by Artificial Intelligence (AI), which makes understanding its reach and influence on society increasingly pertinent. This course uses an interdisciplinary approach to critically dissect AI's origins, proliferation, and ubiquity from social, political, and philosophical angles. We explore questions such as: what makes intelligence of this kind ‘artificial,’ and how does it differ from other types of intelligence, such as those embodied by humans or animals? What is the relationship between AI, natural language processing, machine learning, big data, and algorithms? Why is it so difficult to create AI systems that align with human values? How can we critically examine the production processes of generative, multimodal, and large language models to understand who they help and leave behind? By incorporating academic research, sci-fi literature, films, and a variety of guest lectures by AI practitioners, this course offers a dynamic look at the promises and limits of AI in delivering a utopic technological future.

“The Give and Take: Sociology of the Sharing Economy”

In recent years, the rise of the sharing economy has engendered entire clusters of digital platforms that have transformed how we consume and partake in economic activities. Apps such as Airbnb and Uber have become so commonplace that it is hard to imagine traveling or getting around without them. However, as sharing economies grow, they become the very capitalistic corporations they once sought to deliver us from. We peel open the world of ‘sharing’ in this class by investigating its moral underpinnings and economic logics. Can Uber and Airbnb really consider themselves part of the ‘sharing’ economy when they facilitate commercial transactions? What exactly is ‘sharing,’ and how does it differ from concepts such as gifting or reciprocity? Conceived originally to sidestep traditional work structures and hierarchies, how does the sharing economy exacerbate existing forms of social inequalities? Students will walk away from the class with a more critical and nuanced look at these emerging markets and the world of alternative consumption.

“What Makes Us Click: Online Dating in the Age of Modern Romance” (NPR-featured)

What do love and dating look like today? A recent Pew Research Center survey shows that almost half of 18 to 29-year-olds in the U.S. have dated online and that 17% have committed to a relationship or marriage with someone they have met through a dating site or app. What can we learn about the state of contemporary relationships by examining dating practices alongside the changes ushered in by romance’s digital migration? How is the age-old concept of ‘compatibility’ measured in today’s terms? Are apps changing the ways we relate to others? How has online dating opened up more possibilities for those who belong to the ‘thin market’ of dating (i.e., non-heterosexuals, non-whites, seniors, the divorced, etc.)? And what does this fast-evolving landscape of modern romance say about our attitudes towards the infiltration of new technologies into spaces we deem sacred? This course will examine the state of contemporary romance from various angles, incorporating discourses on culture, gender, sexuality, race, class, and selfhood.