AI and Consciousness: Can Machines Really Think?

Your phone says it “understands” you. Your toaster may be next. In this course, we will completely dismiss the idea that machines think, feel, or know anything at all. We will examine why algorithms don’t have minds, why pattern-matching isn’t understanding, and why consciousness stubbornly refuses to be coded. Expect class philosophy, sharp arguments, mild exasperation, and a firm defense of human thought in an age increasingly impressed by clever machines.

Troy Catterson, Ph.D., is the director of the Ph.D. program in Humanities and Technology at Salve Regina University. He is also an associate professor of philosophy. He has published numerous articles in top academic journals on logic, metaphysics, ethics and the concept of God. Troy received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Boston University and speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese.