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Critical Perspectives on AI2026HT, 6.0 credits
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Course plan
No of lectures
6-9 seminars (exact number depends on number of participants)
Recommended for
This is an interdisciplinary course mainly intended for PhD students in cognitive science, computer science, design and related disciplines. PhD students who have a strong interest in AI and/or robotics, but come from other research areas (e.g.,science & technology studies, gender studies, or applications of AI in education, healthcare, etc.), are also very welcome.
The course was last given
The course was last given spring 2025 and got a very positive evaluation then, with 100% of the participants rating the course overall as “excellent” (60%) or “very good” (40%).
Goals
The main goal is to familiarize students with critical perspectives addressing limitations, risks, misperceptions, etc. of AI research and technology.
Prerequisites
Some background in AI, HCI and/or cognitive science - and a strong interest in understanding societal implications of AI. The course does not necessarily require much technology/computing background, so PhD students interested in AI from the perspective of other research fields (e.g., science & technology studies, gender studies, or applications of AI in education, healthcare, etc.), are also very welcome.
Organization
The course mainly consists of discussion seminars and student presentations.
Contents
The course consists of:
- one introductory lecture/seminar that goes through 'old' (20th century)
criticisms of AI discussed in the 1960s-90s (e.g., frame problem, common sense
problem, symbol grounding problem), and
- 5-8 seminars discussing recent books and papers that address critical
perspectives on AI (see Literature for details).
Literature
The course literature mainly consists of a number books and papers from the
last 5 years. The 2025 edition of the course included the following books:
- Crawford (2021). Atlas of AI: Power, politics, and the planetary costs of
artificial intelligence. Yale University Press.
- Cassili (2025). Waiting for Robots: The Hired Hands of Automation.
University of Chicago Press.
- Russell (2019). Human Compatible: Artificial intelligence and the problem
of control. Viking Press.
NB: The list above is based on the spring 2025 edition of the
course and will be updated with new books and papers in 2026, given that AI has
been a very quickly evolving research field in recent years.
Lecturers
Tom Ziemke
Examiner
Tom Ziemke
Examination
Mandatory student presentations, active participation in seminar discussions, and some written coursework at the end of the course.
Credit
6 hp
Comments
The course can be given on Zoom if there are non-local participants (and might in that case include a physical meeting at LiU in the beginning or the end of the course). Most seminars will take place on Friday afternoons.
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