Course syllabus for Emerging technologies, global risk and the future of humanity

Course syllabus adopted 2024-01-31 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).

Overview

  • Swedish nameNya teknologier, global risk och mänsklighetens framtid
  • CodeMVE420
  • Credits7.5 Credits
  • OwnerTKTFY
  • Education cycleFirst-cycle
  • ThemeMTS 7.5 c
  • DepartmentMATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
  • GradingTH - Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3), Fail

Course round 1

  • Teaching language Swedish
  • Application code 57139
  • Maximum participants40
  • Open for exchange studentsNo

Credit distribution

0114 Project 7.5 c
Grading: TH		 7.5 c

In programmes

Examiner

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Eligibility

General entry requirements for bachelor's level (first cycle)
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Specific entry requirements

The same as for the programme that owns the course.
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Course specific prerequisites

No particular prerequisites are needed

Aim

New and emerging technologies have enormous potential for improving humanity's conditions and prosperity during coming centuries. At the same time, many of these technologies have potentially disastrous consequences for humanity if they are used unwisely. A problem is that tenchnological innovation is hard to predict in detail, so decisions will have to be made under uncertainty. Hence it is important to be able to reason under uncertainty about emerging technologies and the future of humanity. The aim of the course is to introduce some basic methods for systematic reasoning in this field. Several specific technologies are discussed, in order to obtain an overview. The course furthermore gives students the opportunity to go deeper into the prospects and consequences in some specific technology (of their own choice) with large potential consequences for the future of humanity.

Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)

Describe some potentially serious consequences of emerging technologies involving, e.g., advanced bioengineering, nanotechnology, IT and surveillance, geoengineering, energy and artificial intelligence Describe some basic method for rational decision making under uncertainty Give some arguments for and against society's ability to plan and (possibly) control technological development Explain why different choices of ethical framework can lead to different value statements concerning the future of humanity Report on risks and opportunities within some chosen area of technology

Content

Opportunities and risks in connection with emerging technologies involving, e.g., advanced bioengineering, nanotechnology, IT and surveillance, geoengineering, energy and artificial intelligence. Factors affecting society's ability to plan and control these opportunities and risks. Rational decision making under uncertainty. Various ethical perspectives on the future.

Organisation

Lectures, followed by a project which is reported orally and in writing.

Literature

Sven Nyholm: This is Technology Ethics: An Introduction (Wiley, 2023).
Additional handouts during the course.

Examination including compulsory elements

An oral project presentation and a written project report, and an oral exam.

The course examiner may assess individual students in other ways than what is stated above if there are special reasons for doing so, for example if a student has a decision from Chalmers on educational support due to disability.