Final Part 2: Essay Questions

You get to choose three of the following essays. Answer your chosen essays in the three boxes below. Be sure to make it clear which essays you are answering. Spend no more than about 15-20 minutes on each essay. 

Do not use any other sources, ChatGPT, browser, or copy any materials from elsewhere. Answer these essays using only your own brain.

Write a short argument either for or against the proposal below. Outlines/bullet points are fine. Focus your arguments on evidence that we have discussed in this course.

1. “Harvard College should have an AI course requirement (similar to QRD or Expos) to ensure that all students gain basic competence with AI.”
   
   
2. “We will never have moral obligations towards an AI system even if it exhibits signs of consciousness or sentience.”
   
   
3. “Within 5 years, AI will be able to replace 99% of fully remote human jobs (jobs that do not require physical presence).”
   
   
4. “Just as hand-woven textiles are a niche, luxury item in a world of machine-made products, so will human-created art, music, and literature become a luxury amidst a flood of AI-generated creative works.”
   
   
5. “Harvard College should adopt a uniform policy on students' use of AI that would apply to all courses.”
   
   
6. “The use of AI for high-stakes decisions such as hiring or admissions could decrease bias/discrimination compared with our current human-centered decision processes.”
   
   
7. “As a matter of principle, even as AI systems improve, Harvard faculty should not be allowed to use AI tools for grading student work.”
   
   
8. “Within the next 5-10 years, AI will surpass human scientists in essentially all aspects of scientific research.”
   
   
9. “The development of powerful AI systems has substantially increased the likelihood of a civilization-ending technological apocalypse.”
   
   
10. “Generative AI can never create anything truly original. It only replicates and re-mixes data from its training.”