COMMS 700

Digital Futures

Please note: this is archived course information from 2020 for COMMS 700.

Description

This course considers emerging communication and media technologies and examines their potential future consequences for individuals, societies and the world at large.

While the specific technologies we focus on will evolve in light of developing trends and forecasts, key areas of interest include: robotics, artificial intelligence and algorithms; ubiquitous computing and the Internet of Things (IoT); 3D printing; virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies.

The course looks at a range of issues arising from the rapid development of such technologies, including: automation and the future of employment; surveillance, privacy and data sovereignty; algorithmic bias and discrimination; new modes of experience; transformed human relationships; and ecological consequences.

While we examine social, ethical and environmental risks associated with emerging technologies, we also consider how they might be deployed to enrich our lives and our communities.

The purpose of the course is not to learn how to predict the future, but to develop skills and capacities necessary to understand, anticipate and become active shapers of the many possible digital futures that lie ahead.

Availability 2020

Semester 1

Lecturer(s)

Coordinator(s) Professor Neal Curtis

Reading/Texts

Recommended Reading

Assessment

Points

COMMS 700: 30 points

Prerequisites

Restrictions

MEDIA 717