This unit explores the social, cultural, and ethical dimensions of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as it becomes embedded in everyday life. Rather than focusing on technical design, the unit examines how AI reshapes social relations, cultural production, and political structures. We will critically analyze AI’s convergence with digital platforms and popular culture, the personalization of media, and the rise of algorithmic decision-making across different sectors of society.
Students will engage with theoretical perspectives from sociology, media studies, and philosophy alongside case studies from journalism, entertainment, and policy. Key debates include the ethics of affective computing, the political economy of data, and the societal implications of machine learning. Practical workshops and media analysis will allow students to interrogate how AI mediates identity, intimacy, and inequality. To this end, we will use films, critical essays, and contemporary research to discuss the promises and risks of AI in shaping human creativity, communication, and democracy.
Indicative Content
· Introduction to AI in society and culture
· AI, platforms, and popular culture
· Algorithmic power and personalization of culture
· AI and the public sphere: journalism, fake news, and ethics
· Inequality, bias, and the politics of data
· Affective computing and human–AI intimacy
· Surveillance capitalism and data justice
· AI futures: posthumanism, labour, and automation
- Dozent/in: Duygu Karatas