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SOCI 355 Final Exam Questions Three of these questions, selected randomly, will be the questions on the final. You should plan to spend equal time on each of the three that are on the exam. Refer to readings and other course documents (including video material we have seen) in making your argument, though you do not need to be concerned about citation formats (just mention an author or title in your response). Here are some keys to writing good answers on an exam like this: THE QUESTIONS:

SOCI 355 Final Essay Assignment Write a focused, coherent, and carefully argued response of around 4,000 words to the prompt below. Be sure to attend to every question asked. Mobilize course texts (including both the readings and the various films we saw) as the supportive structure of your argument, even though some of the questions will ask you to go beyond those texts into the speculative. Proofread and revise it with care. A good strategy is to write up a draft and then leave it alone for a few days before coming back to revise with fresh eyes. The prompt: […]

Yudkosky and Soares’ If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies centers around the idea that AI is unpredictable and has the ability to take complete control over us all. Taking a pessimistic view, Yudkowsky and Soares wholeheartedly believe that the development of Superintelligent AI can lead to the extinction of humanity as we know it. Understandably, this is an incredibly hard pill to swallow.  Starting with chapter 3, the authors introduce us to the idea of AIs “learning to want”. While AIs will never have humanlike passions, as they continue to get smarter they will begin to behave like they want […]

Artificial intelligence will not be built like humans (or the bird-aliens) that enjoy preferences or prime numbers. While humans consider “What is the right thing to do?” (93), machine intelligence’s ultimate goal is to be efficient and maximize output. AI can be trained to consider human’s “moral sentiments” (83), but as it becomes superintelligent it will develop beyond human psychology. Yudkowsky and Soares consider if an “alien mind would be good for humanity” and their answer is a resounding “No.” (83).  Alien superintelligence machines would not benefit from human existence and they would end our population. Yudkowsky and Soares compare […]

SOCI-355-01Technology, Power and PoliticsMon 5/11/26 3:30 PM – 6:30 PMHOLM – 101

http://soci35501sp2026.courses.bucknell.edu/files/2026/04/Gary-Marcus.pdf

Starting with Chapter 9 Carr highlights the beliefs of late 20th century technology entrepreneur, Marc Andreessen, who said “AI will save the world” (207). Andreessen notes that AI can do anything better than humans. Specifically, Andressen finds that AI is more productive, will make more scientific discoveries, and will rationalize political decisions. Moreover, Andresseen argues that AI will be humanized to appear as patient and sympathetic with the potential to make the world nicer and empathic (207).  Many AI advocates would agree with Andreessen’s points, similarly to Zuckerberg, that social media was made to bring people together and eliminate inequality […]

Nicholas Carr’s “Superbloom” is a work that tries to break away from the notion that digital technology is an instrument for bringing people closer together and for furthering democracy. In Chapters 5 and 6, “Antipathies” and “The Democratization Fallacy,” Carr seeks to show how technology, far from uniting people, further divides them and creates an illusion of equality. In “Antipathies,” Carr looks at how technology further divides people in terms of social conflicts. He notes how digital technology is programmed to encourage people to engage more and how it is more likely for people to be exposed to information that […]

Nicholas Carr opens up his 2025 piece Superbloom with a metaphor comparing the boom in communication technology that we see to a superbloom of tulips in California. As humans, we are constantly receiving and emitting signals to one another, and while the thrill of this new kind of communication technology was prevalent at the beginning, we are now facing some unintended consequences. Carr introduces us to Charles Horton Cooley, an American sociologist from the mid-1800s. Cooley understands that communication is the explanation for how societies evolve. The way that we communicate determines the ways that we think and act. As […]

1) Go to https://www.blogs.bucknell.edu/ and log in to your myBucknell account (or if you’re already logged in, going to that url will show you a link for our course blog). 2) Go to “Visit Dashboard” for our blog. (Or, if when you get into the blog site it shows you the published front page, click on “Log In” on the right of screen.) 3) Hover over “+New” at top of screen menu. 4) Click on “Post.” That opens the editor. Type or paste in your text. Be sure to periodically “Save Draft” if you are typing for a while so you don’t […]