Short course
The Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence
Course status:
Course ended
Dates:
22/01/2026 - 26/03/2026
Study format:
In-person weekly
Fees:
£300.00
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?
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Programme details
Course starts Thursday 22nd January 2026
This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Thursdays, 2.00pm-4.30pm.
Week 1: Introduction – What is intelligence?
Week 2: Descartes and Turing on the question ‘Can machines think?’
Week 3: Searle’s Chinese Room thought experiment
Week 4: Do brains compute? Fodor’s language of thought
Week 5: Deep learning and Lady Lovelace’s objection to machine creativity
Week 6: Machines that narrate and the question of understanding the world
Week 7: Floridi and life in the information age
Week 8: Ethics of AI: values and alignment
Week 9: Future projections: The Pessimists (singularity, AGI, superintelligence, existential risks)
Week 10: Future projections: The Optimists (transhumanism, effective altruism, longtermism)
Teaching methods
Interactive 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 have been given the opportunity 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
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
Assessment
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.
Level and demands
The Department’s Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, ie 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.
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.
Location: Ewert House Ewert Place, Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 7DD
Programme details
Course starts Thursday 22nd January 2026
This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Thursdays, 2.00pm-4.30pm.
Week 1: Introduction – What is intelligence?
Week 2: Descartes and Turing on the question ‘Can machines think?’
Week 3: Searle’s Chinese Room thought experiment
Week 4: Do brains compute? Fodor’s language of thought
Week 5: Deep learning and Lady Lovelace’s objection to machine creativity
Week 6: Machines that narrate and the question of understanding the world
Week 7: Floridi and life in the information age
Week 8: Ethics of AI: values and alignment
Week 9: Future projections: The Pessimists (singularity, AGI, superintelligence, existential risks)
Week 10: Future projections: The Optimists (transhumanism, effective altruism, longtermism)
Teaching methods
Interactive 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 have been given the opportunity 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
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
Assessment
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.
Programme details
Course starts Thursday 22nd January 2026
This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Thursdays, 2.00pm-4.30pm.
Week 1: Introduction – What is intelligence?
Week 2: Descartes and Turing on the question ‘Can machines think?’
Week 3: Searle’s Chinese Room thought experiment
Week 4: Do brains compute? Fodor’s language of thought
Week 5: Deep learning and Lady Lovelace’s objection to machine creativity
Week 6: Machines that narrate and the question of understanding the world
Week 7: Floridi and life in the information age
Week 8: Ethics of AI: values and alignment
Week 9: Future projections: The Pessimists (singularity, AGI, superintelligence, existential risks)
Week 10: Future projections: The Optimists (transhumanism, effective altruism, longtermism)
Teaching methods
Interactive 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 have been given the opportunity 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
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
Assessment
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.
Julia Weckend
Julia has taught philosophy at the Universities of Reading and Southampton before joining Oxford University’s Oxford Lifelong Learning. She regularly teaches weekly classes as well as courses for Oxford University Summer School for Adults and Oxford Experience. Her academic research focuses 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).
Certification
Academic credit
Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme (CATS Points)
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. If you wish to gain credit from completing this course you must register to do so before the course starts.
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.
Learn more about the Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme.
If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education at the Department you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee for assessment and accreditation.
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.
Level and demands
The Department’s Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, ie 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.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course fee (with no assessment) | £300.00 |
| Assessment and Accreditation fee | £60.00 |
How to enrol
Please use the ‘Book now’ button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form.
How to register for accreditation and assessment
To be able to submit coursework and to earn credit (CATS points) for this course, if you wish to do so, you will need to register and pay an additional £60 fee. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.
Students who do not register for CATS points 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 at the Department you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.