Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence: Ethics and Policy

Education facts

Code: 1FL118

Recent years have seen rapid progress in the development of artificial intelligent systems. This class will address ethical and societal questions arising from the increasing presence of these systems in our lives, such as: Artificial intelligence allows companies and governments to collect and analyse unprecedented amounts of data about us. How does the use of these data for surveillance and manipulation threaten our autonomy and privacy? How do we prevent artificial intelligences from acquiring morally objectionable biases? Who is responsible for the decisions of autonomous automated weapons? What ethical rules should self-driving cars implement? Will artificial intelligence make most human jobs superfluous, and would this be bad? And might superintelligent artificial systems threaten the very existence of humanity?

Entry requirements

90 ECTS credits in philosophy, computer science, history, sociology, political science, cognitive science or equivalent, or a Degree encompassing at least 180 ECTS credits, or equivalent (previous higher education studies in at least one of the subjects listed is highly recommended). Proficiency in English equivalent to Swedish upper secondary course English 6/level 2. Where the language of instruction is Swedish, applicants must prove proficiency in Swedish to the level required for basic eligibility for higher studies.

Education offerings

Each offering has its own dates and conditions. Closed offerings are retained as history and do not mean that a new application is open.

• Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence: Ethics and Policy

  Umeå University

  Umeå

  Start date: 2 November 2026

  End date: 17 January 2027

  Pace of study: 50 %