N AT U R E & C O N S E R VAT I O N S T U D I E S P H I L O S O P H Y P H I L O S O P H Y Minds and Machines: A Philosophical Exploration of AI and Consciousness A ttempts to create intelligent machines raise philo- sophical questions about the criteria for evaluating how intelligence, consciousness, and thinking could apply to machines of our own making. What is human thought? What is consciousness? What is intelligence? Can the dynamics of human thought be replicated? These are the fundamental questions that the field of artificial intelligence (AI) has to grapple with. We will begin by considering the Turing test, which modeled the brain as a computer in a primitive attempt to eval- uate intelligence. Soon viewed as too reductionist, the Turing test quickly lost favor as philosophers turned to suggesting a more phenomenological way of seeing the question, drawing on the work of Martin Heidegger and Maurice Merleau-Ponty and the concepts of “situation” and “embodiment.” We will look at how the latest innovation in AI, which is behind today’s self-driving cars, tries to incorporate the concerns of this phenomenological approach. Specific topics we will cover include John Searle’s Chinese Room Argument, the frame problem, and why AI has not lived up to its expectations. Readings will include selections from What Computers Still Can’t Do by Hubert Dreyfus, Out of Our Heads by Alva Noë, and Searle’s The Mystery of Consciousness. for r e st h a rtm a n Senior Adjunct, Critical Studies Program, California College of the Arts Forrest Hartman’s research interests are based in the history of ideas and cultural studies, especially the relationship between the sciences and the humanities. He received a PhD in rhetoric/philosophy from UC Berkeley and a PhD in evolutionary biology from the University of Michigan. PHI 104 Thursdays, 7:00 – 8:50 pm (PT) 8 weeks, June 29 – August 17 1 unit, $440 Refund Deadline: July 1 Course Format: On-campus The Meaning of Life: Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and More W hat is the meaning of life? The question invites religious and spiritual answers. But it’s also a problem that philosophers try to approach systemat- ically. Søren Kierkegaard finds meaning in the self’s ability to connect the temporal to the eternal, while Martin Heidegger locates it in our way of living with death. Political theorist Hannah Arendt draws atten- tion to the democratic public sphere, where citizens exchange views about the significance of their words and deeds. Existentialists such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus explore how individual integrity is achieved by facing up to a universe devoid of objective purpose. Ralph Waldo Emerson celebrates the experi- ence of wholeness that nature provides to those who free themselves from the restrictions of society, Friedrich Nietzsche recommends approaching life as a work of art, and Susan Wolf identifies activities in which subjective passion meets objective value. We’ll explore these ideas and more. The course won’t provide any easy answers to the question of the meaning of life, but it will provide an opportunity to improve your ability to ask and answer it for yourself. f r e de r ic k m. dol a n Professor of Rhetoric, Emeritus, UC Berkeley Frederick M. Dolan’s interests include political and moral philosophy, theories of interpretation, and aesthetics and the philosophy of art. He received a PhD from Princeton. PHI 91 Wednesdays, 7:00 – 8:50 pm (PT) 10 weeks, June 28 – August 30 2 units, $520 Refund Deadline: June 30 Course Format: Live Online 35 R EGIS T R AT IO N F O R AL L C O UR S ES B EGINS ON MONDAY, MAY 22, AT 8:30 A M (P T ) R EGIS T ER O NL INE AT C O NT INUINGSTU DIES.STA NFORD.EDU