CSCI 102T

The Socio-Techno Web

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Week 11: AI/Automation

Technology is often used to make the completion of tasks easier or more efficient. In the case of automation, technology replaces humans for some or all parts of a particular task. Automation is not new, but the ways that automation permeates our lives is accelerating at ever increasing rates.

Goals

Rapid advances in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and computer hardware are contributing to rapid advances in automation. The goal of this assignment is to understand the role that automation has played in society and how that role will continue to evolve throughout our lifetime. You should be comfortable with the following terms by the end of this week's readings:

• artificial intelligence
• machine learning
• Polanyi's paradox

Readings

Required Readings:

• Why Are There Still So Many Jobs? The History and Future of Workplace Automation (Autor 2015) (if you are stuck on the Econ jargon, it is OK. The author does a great job of explaining through examples, but at the end of the day, it is an Econ paper.)
• The Moral Imperative of Artificial Intelligence (Vardi 2016)
• Automation Should Be Like Iron Man, Not Ultron (Limoncelli 2016)

Optional Readings/Media:

• The AI Revolution: The Road to Superintelligence (part I) (Urban 2015)
  The AI Revolution: Our Immortality or Extinction (part II) (Urban 2015)
  This is a popular blog. This an interesting example of data presentation and effective communication of technical data. What works? What doesn't? (I am not sure how I feel about the style, but it is well-researched)
• What Is The Difference Between Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning? (Marr 2016)
• Robotics: Ethics of artificial intelligence (2015)
• An NPR Reporter Raced A Machine To Write A News Story. Who Won?

Assignment

• Writing Prompt (main writer only, ~2.5 pages): Limoncelli argues that automation should complement human skills, and he uses his experience in a tech company as an example where automation increased productivity without replacing human workers. Vardi asserts that self-driving cars will negatively impact 10% of the jobs in the US economy, but he argues that we still have a moral imperative to adopt self-driving vehicles. Autor details automation trends over time, and presents reasons why increasing automation will impact some jobs will more than others.
  Provide a brief overview of automation trends and how (you/the authors argue that) automation trends will affect society. How will the skills you are developing in your liberal arts education prepare you for an increasingly automated society? In what ways will automation help or hinder you in the future that you have envisioned for yourself and your community?
  
• Writing Prompt (main responder only): Choose two distinct jobs, one of which is “automation-proof” and one that is susceptible to automation. Detail the ways that automation currently relates to those jobs, and argue why they are/aren’t going to be made obsolete in the near future