Topics in Writing and Rhetoric: Technology and Human Values

Pining for a job in Google X but a little afraid of what disrupting the next social system will do to humans when all is said and done? Unsure where the real conversation is happening at Stanford about how to think more carefully and thoughtfully about the tech we are being trained to make? Curious to know what underlying common ground might link fuzzies with techies, humanists with engineers, scientists with philosophers? These are some of the issues we¿ll address in this seminar. You will be able to choose your own current topic¿drones, tech and medicine, Big Data, Cloud applications, AI and consciousness, cybersecurity, tech and the law¿for which you will choose readings and write a seminar paper and then co-lead discussion. The class goals are to know better the ethical value of one¿s tech work and research and to be able to express to scientists and non-scientists alike the ways in which this work contributes to the greater human good (beyond strict convenience or short-term profit). Prerequisite: first two levels of the writing requirement or equivalent transfer credit. For topics, see https://undergrad.stanford.edu/programs/pwr/courses/advanced-pwr-courses.