The Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence



Overview

We live in an information environment. Artificial Intelligence is now all around us and affects all aspects of our lives—it allows us to communicate with just about anybody on the planet, records our online habits and makes recommendations, predicts love matches, writes school essays, and diagnoses illness very effectively.

This course sets out to provide an introduction to the philosophy of artificial intelligence and the philosophical issues that emerge out of the development of current and future AI systems. These developments produce a myriad of questions. In what sense is artificial intelligence a form of intelligence? Is acting intelligently enough? Is a human brain essentially a computer? Can a machine be alive, conscious or self-aware? Can we build AI and align it with our values and ethics? If so, what ethical system do we choose? Can computers achieve so-called singularity, namely a form of intelligence that far surpasses human intelligence? Does this moment pose an existential treat to humanity? 

Programme details

Course starts: 1 Oct 2025

Week 1:  Introduction - what is machine intelligence?

Week 2:  Descartes, Turing and the question “Can a machine think?”

Week 3:  Famous objections - Searle's Chinese Room Argument

Week 4: Machines that learn: looking and seeing

Week 5: Machines that play: deep learning, Lady Lovelace, and the question of creativity

Week 6: Machines that narrate: the question of understanding the world

Week 7: Life in the information age: Floridi on agency and intelligence

Week 8: Ethics of AI: boundaries, value alignment, rights and responsibilities of machines

Week 9:  Future projections (the pessimists): AGI, superintelligence, singularity, existential risks (Bostrom, Sandberg)

Week 10:  Future projections (the optimists): ethical altruism, longtermism (MacAskill)

Certification

Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme (CATS) Points

Only those who have registered for assessment and accreditation will be awarded CATS points for completing work to the required standard. Please note that assignments are not graded but are marked either pass or fail. Please follow this link for more information on Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme (CATS) points

Digital Certificate of Completion 

Students who are registered for assessment and accreditation and pass their final assignment will also be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Information on how to access the digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course attended. You will be able to download the certificate and share it on social media if you choose to do so.

Please note students who do not register for assessment and accreditation during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun.

Fees

Description Costs
Course fee (with no assessment) £300.00
Take this course for CATS points £60.00

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutor

Dr Julia Weckend

Julia has taught philosophy at the Universities of Reading and Southampton before joining Oxford University’s Department for Continuing Education in 2014. She gives public lectures and regularly teaches weekly classes, short online courses, as well as courses for Oxford University Summer School for Adults and Oxford Experience. Her academic research focusses on issues in metaphysics and epistemology. She has published papers and edited two volumes in the history of philosophy, and she is a co-author of the Historical Dictionary of Leibniz’s Philosophy (2023).

Course aims

  • Gain an understanding of the nature, role and impact of AI on today's societies and the problems and concerns that arise from its influence. 
  • Familiarise students with past and contemporary philosophical reflections on artificial intelligence.
  • Help students think critically about AI, our ways of engaging with it, and our moral obligations towards it.
  • Help consider the potential societal consequences of the development of AI, and any ethical, moral and safety dilemmas this raises.

Teaching methods

Interactive PowerPoint lectures accompanied by extensive handouts. Students will occasionally be asked to read a relevant web article, philosophical paper or chapter from a book to gain an understanding of the status of the current debate, and to prepare for seminar discussions. 

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will be expected to:

  • be able to understand the main philosophical issues concerning AI and any future developments;
  • describe and articulate the main distinctions and ideas that exercise contemporary philosophy on this topic;
  • constructively evaluate the positions that have been explored and develop a position of their own. 

Assessment methods

Option A: Assessment will be by means of three mini essays of 500 words each. 

OR 

Option B: Assessment will be by means of a single project equating to an essay of 1,500 words, or a 10-minute class presentation. You will also have the opportunity to submit a 500 word plan of the essay or presentation as a formative assignment. For the presentation, you will need to  hand in your presentation notes to make sure that we can recognise it as a course submission and guarantee accreditation.

Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation will submit coursework.

 

 

Application

To be able to submit coursework and to earn credit (CATS points) for your course you will need to register and pay an additional £60 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online. Please use the 'Book now' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an Enrolment form for short courses | Oxford University Department for Continuing Education

Students who do not register for assessment and credit during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun. If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.

 

Level and demands

The Department's Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, i.e. first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support