Today, artificial intelligence systems are not merely technical tools; they have become actors that make decisions, direct, and reshape social structures. The use of artificial intelligence in many domains, ranging from autonomous vehicles to healthcare systems, and from recruitment to surveillance technologies, raises new questions that push the boundaries of classical ethical theories. This workshop aims to examine the relationship between the technical functioning of artificial intelligence and moral responsibility from a philosophical perspective.
Our instructor Dilara Boğa completed her bachelor's and master's degrees at Bilkent University, and is currently a PhD candidate in the philosophy department at Central European University (CEU). Her research focuses on interconnected issues among the philosophy of biology, ethics and moral responsibility, and the philosophy of artificial intelligence. She is the recipient of CEU's Doctoral and Write-up Fellowship and The Society for Applied Philosophy's Doctoral Scholarship. She is also the co-founder of the Ethics and Technology Early Career Group (Ethics andTechnology Early Career Group – ETEG).
The course will take place online via Zoom on Thursdays, March 12, 19, and 26, between 20:00 and 22:00. It will last approximately 6 hours in total. All sessions are recorded and shared with the participants. The sessions can be accessed indefinitely after the course ends.
Session 1 (March 12): AI Ethics – Ethical Problems and Their Causes
In the first week, we focus on what artificial intelligence is and why it cannot be seen merely as an engineering problem.
- Briefly, the Ontology of Artificial Intelligence:
The distinction between narrow AI and general AI; do algorithms "inquire" or just calculate?
What are the ethical problems created by technological systems?
- The Problem of Moral Agency:
Can a machine be a moral agent/subject? Are intention, consciousness, and freedom meaningful for artificial intelligence?
Session 2 (March 19): The Algorithmic Dimension of Epistemic Injustice – Digital Manipulation
In the second week, we discuss how artificial intelligence can reproduce epistemic injustice in another dimension and its connection with power relations.
- The Construction of Algorithmic Knowledge and the Crisis of Representation:
Do the "learning" processes of AI present the world as an objective dataset, or do they create a digital echo chamber of existing cultural and class hegemony? Recognitional injustice caused by gaps in data.
- The Digitalization of Biases and Structural Discrimination:
The reproduction of sexist, racist, and classist biases through algorithms under the guise of "objective reality" in critical decision-making mechanisms such as recruitment, credit scoring, and facial recognition.
- Epistemic Domination and the Digital Manipulation Society:
Big data and facial recognition technologies increasing control over data regarding individual preferences. Surveillance and manipulation practices of states and corporations; the ethical tension between the promise of security and the erosion of individual freedom.
Session 3 (March 26): The Ethics of the Future – Moral Responsibility and Rights
In the final week, we address the philosophical consequences of the new relationship artificial intelligence has established with humanity.
- The "Responsibility Gap" Problem:
Can we attribute moral responsibilities and rights to AI? When AI makes a mistake, who bears the responsibility: the machine, the human, or both? Can we distribute responsibility, and if we should, how can we do it?
Discussing the question, "Can we talk about robot rights?" through the relational ethics model. Questioning whether rights can arise not from the essence of the entity (consciousness, reason, emotion, etc.), but from the social interaction it establishes with humans. Discussing the ethical consequences of removing the machine from being a mere "tool" and positioning or not positioning it as an "other".
- Human-Centered Ethics vs. Machine-Centered Ethics:
Whose values will we align the decisions with? Which "human's" values should be the baseline?
Participant Profile
This workshop/course is designed for anyone interested in the philosophy of technology, wanting to question the social impacts of AI, and open to ethical discussions. It does not require advanced technical knowledge; a basic level of conceptual curiosity and a desire for discussion are sufficient.
The course fee is 2100 TL per person, including VAT. Payment details will be shared via email with approved participants as soon as possible. The language of instruction will be Turkish.
