Speculations on the present state and future possibilities of machine intelligence reframe questions that are intrinsic to our social, political, and labor relations: whom do we consider the "other;" which bodies are privileged over others; and who is assigned the work that others prefer not to carry out? As machines begin to perform more care and empathy-based work - from responsive agents in handheld devices and automated service providers to robots designed for companionship - how will the value and measure of emotional intelligence evolve? This course offers an introduction to the concepts, research, and cultural texts that inform our conversations about artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on society. Course materials range from philosophical texts and industry reports to speculative fiction and feature films, and theoretical approaches will engage with materialist feminism, queer theory, and critical race studies. In addition to close reading, discussion, and writing about these texts, we will conduct field research as users of everyday applications and services powered by artificial intelligence, to develop original observations about machine-mediated social relations. Our collective work as a class will be focused on building a broad, critical context for understanding the relationship between our new technologies and new human horizons.

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