INQ-300 | AI Digital Econ & Plat Society

Full Title: Artificial Intelligence, the Digital Economy, and the Platform Society

Topic Description:

It is hardly news that big data, artificial intelligence, and algorithms shape our lives. We are instructed that data science and machine learning will thoroughly transform the enterprise of human understanding, and perhaps even democratize knowledge. At the same time, many worry about the mass surveillance and behavioral manipulation ushered in by the for-profit platforms that have assumed increasing responsibility for organizing our digital interactions. Moreover, it has begun to dawn that recent developments ushered in by such platforms may be degrading knowledge itself—potentially undermining the central claim made on behalf of the new information economy. The fundamental question posed by this course is whether it is possible to enjoy the benefits promised by the information economy, while avoiding some of the more alarming consequences associated with the platform society—and, if so, how.

Counts as Global? No

Topic Approved: October 2023