IIT Hyderabad Launches New Liberal Arts Course In Artificial Intelligence And Humanity

Giving an interesting spin to the ongoing debate in the tech circles about artificial intelligence, its rights and its relevance to humanity, the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad has launched a new course titled Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Humanity. According to news reports, the Department of Liberal Arts from IIT-H has launched a Minor in AI and Humanity. The aim of the course is to understand, question, and shape the ways AI and AI-based technologies are being perceived and incorporated in human lives. "Students will benefit from thinking beyond the purely technical aspects of AI: humanities and social science scholars will team up with engineers and designers to offer wide-ranging interdisciplinary perspectives on AI and Humanity as part of this newly launched Minor by the Department of Liberal Arts," a statement from IIT-H said. The 12-credit Minor is open to students from the second year onwards. The course includes foundational courses in the history, philosophy, sociology, and psychology of technology, as well as courses focusing on the social, political, economic, and legal implications of AI at a global scale. The students will also undertake team-based project work, supervised jointly by faculty across liberal arts, design, and engineering departments, to further explore the socio-technical dimensions of AI. Dr Aalok Khandekar, Assistant Professor of Anthropology/Sociology, Department of Liberal Arts, IIT Hyderabad, told NDTV, "There is so much excitement about AI these days, about their transformative potential in terms of ushering in nothing short of a fourth industrial revolution. And indeed, we are already beginning to see the permeation of AI-based chatbots and such into routine everyday transactions. ... Many of the projected uses of AI are also really exciting: I was recently involved in discussions about what AI might mean for pursuing sustainability goals, for example. And several wildlife conservation experts that I spoke with are truly enthused by the possibilities that machine learning can enable in terms of cataloguing biodiversity."