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74559-01 - Seminar: Artifical Intelligence and Geopolitics (3 CP)
| Semester | spring semester 2025 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers |
Daniel Kunzelmann (daniel.kunzelmann@unibas.ch, Assessor)
Remo Reginold (remo.reginold@unibas.ch) |
| Content | Developments in artificial intelligence (AI) seem to be finding their way into all spheres of life, society, business and politics. Often used as a collective term for very different ideas and concepts, they create both utopian and dystopian images. AI is being used strategically in geopolitically volatile and uncertain environments, where power politics is increasingly enforced through scientific research and applied technologies, finance and supply chains, infrastructures and technical standards. The consequences of an AI-soked world are political and both global and local. With this in mind, we will address three specific questions in this seminar: (1) What is AI? (2) What ideas, interpretations and symbols are made of AI? (3) Which facts, actors, infrastructures and sciences are mobilized and clash in geopolitical and transnational contexts? (4) How is AI used strategically in security, trade and geopolitics, and with what consequences? The first step is to clarify the term "artificial intelligence". The imagination and reality(ies) of AI are being used more and more as political maneuvering mass and increasingly for power and geopolitics. Precisely because there is a lot of ignorance, half-knowledge and numerous projection surfaces, AI can be used in a highly interest-driven way. Beyond symbolic battles, AI is also becoming the subject of strategic action by many countries, organizations and companies: from modern warfare (AI-supported target selection) to risk assessments (AI-supported crime prevention) to profit-maximizing commodification (AI-supported market analyses). The aim of this interdisciplinary seminar is to create a well-founded cultural anthropological, cyberethnographic and political science counterpoint in current debates. This is absolutely necessary. Even in the field of AI, the authority of interpretation is still strongly dominated by (IT) technical references and is driven by functionalities. However, and we will work this out together, AI, like every cybertechnological development, is a historically evolved, social and (geo)political field that must be culturally negotiated and thus remains open, dynamic and changeable. In order to clarify this counterpoint in the debate, we would like to consciously break down the separation of theory and practice in the seminar. To this end, we invite selected interdisciplinary experts to specific sessions. This seminar is supported by the Swiss Institute for Global Affairs (SIGA): www.globalaffairs.ch. |
| Learning objectives | Students gain a basic overview of ‘Artificial Intelligence’ and are able to interpret, critically reflect on and present the relevant subtopics and associated literature in an application-orientated manner. |
| Bibliography | Details will be announced in the first session. |
| Comments | The course places will be allocated with special consideration given to the students of ‘Changing Societies’ and according to the date of enrolment. The maximum number of participants will be limited to 20. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Wednesday | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 104 |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 26.02.2025 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 104 |
| Wednesday 05.03.2025 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 104 |
| Wednesday 12.03.2025 | 14.15-16.00 | Fasnachstferien |
| Wednesday 19.03.2025 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 104 |
| Wednesday 26.03.2025 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 104 |
| Wednesday 02.04.2025 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 104 |
| Wednesday 09.04.2025 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 104 |
| Wednesday 16.04.2025 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 104 |
| Wednesday 23.04.2025 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 104 |
| Wednesday 30.04.2025 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 104 |
| Wednesday 07.05.2025 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 104 |
| Wednesday 14.05.2025 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 104 |
| Wednesday 21.05.2025 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 104 |
| Wednesday 28.05.2025 | 14.15-16.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 104 |
| Modules |
Modul: Digital Humanities, Culture and Society (Master's degree subject: Digital Humanities) Modul: Methoden und Felder der Kulturanthropologie (Bachelor's degree subject: Cultural Anthropology) Modul: Research Lab Kulturanthropologie (Master's degree subject: Cultural Anthropology) Modul: Theorien der Kulturanthropologie (Bachelor's degree subject: Cultural Anthropology) Modul: Theorien und Methodologien der Kulturanthropologie (Master's degree subject: Cultural Anthropology) Module: Conflicts and Peacebuilding (Master's degree program: Changing Societies: Migration – Conflicts – Resources) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Details will be announced in the first session. |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Departement Gesellschaftswissenschaften |