Ai in popular culture
Learning goals:
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
– Analyze how artificial intelligence is portrayed in popular culture.
– Evaluate the ethical and societal implications of these portrayals.
– Discuss the impact of these portrayals on public perceptions of AI.
Resources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htpKX9Ygdfw
Learning activities:
Activity 1: Movie Clips and Discussion
Show Clips:
Select a few clips from movies or TV shows that prominently feature AI, such as “Ex Machina,” “I, Robot,” or “Westworld.”
Ensure the clips illustrate different aspects of AI, such as human-like robots, ethical dilemmas, or AI gone rogue.
Group Discussion:
After each clip, facilitate a group discussion with the following questions:
How is AI portrayed in this clip?
What ethical dilemmas or societal issues are raised?
How do you think the public might perceive AI based on these portrayals?
Activity 2: Ethical Analysis:
Ethical Framework:
Introduce students to common ethical frameworks, such as utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics.
Discuss how these frameworks can be applied to evaluate the actions and decisions of AI characters in the clips.
Group Ethics Discussion:
Divide the class into groups and assign each group an AI-related ethical dilemma from the clips.
Have groups discuss and debate the ethical aspects of the dilemma using one of the ethical frameworks.
Activity 3: Impact on Public Perception:
Class Discussion
Lead a discussion on how popular culture’s portrayal of AI might shape public perception and attitudes toward AI technologies.
Encourage students to share their thoughts on whether these portrayals are accurate or exaggerated.
Media Analysis:
Discuss how media can influence public opinion and policy decisions.
Mention any real-world instances where public perception has influenced AI development and regulation.