How do you react to the term “Artificial Intelligence?” Is it “No way a program can be truly intelligent”, or “It’s here now in a big way”, or “It’s great, and it’s going to be even better,” or “It’s terrifying for the future”? Or maybe, “I don’t know what I should think—what is ‘AI’, anyway?” Except for that last question, whatever your reaction, you are in good company with well-informed, thoughtful experts on Artificial Intelligence.

Our goal will be to clear up confusion about what AI is, and focus on six visions of how it may affect people. Without being very technical, we’ll briefly explore what AI is in 2022 and then examine fictional scenarios of AI applications in the year 2041.

This is not a class that includes or teaches any software programming. Participants should expect approximately 80 of pages of reading per session. A list of optional recommended readings for further personal exploration will also be available. We’ll emphasize lively discussion which is respectful of different opinions.