The seminar seeks a hands-on and critical perspective on »the digital« by enabling students to work with the materiality of data and to understand the mechanisms at work by which computers become intelligent (or not).
Students will gather first-hand experience in some of the topics that drive current discourses and media headlines around digital technology. The seminar will offer a hands-on introduction to, e.g. the application of machine learning for facial recognition, the use of data mining for tracking and profiling users on the web, as well as language processing and AI technologies behind bot networks that mimic human users on social media.
The practical exercises are accompanied by relevant reading of fundamental texts in the history and philosophy of computing and artificial intelligence, as well as research on the societal impact of the digital turn and gendered labor conditions in the computing industry. How exactly are companies gathering data and exploiting information for political gain? How and why do prevalent machine learning applications discriminate against minorities?
No prior experience in coding or any other technical skills beyond basic usage of a computer are required. The interdisciplinary seminar is aimed at students who want to extend their critical thinking around data and the digital with applied knowledge, or vice versa, who want to extend their digital skills with critical thinking about their field of knowledge and practice.
Bitte beachten Sie, dass die ersten drei Termine nicht 14tgl. sondern wie folgt stattfinden:
1. Sitzung: 17.10.2019, 14-18 Uhr
2. Sitzung: 24.10.2019, 14-18 Uhr
3. Sitzung: 14.11.2019, 14-18 Uhr
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