Logistics

Required Texts to Purchase

Virtue in Virtual Spaces: Catholic Social Teaching and Technology (Conwill, Levis, and Scheirer)

The Burnout Society (Han)

The Question Concern Technology, and Other Essays (Heiddeger)

? Help Protocol

Think → Slack → Think → Email → Think → Office

Coursework

Component	Points
In-Class Quick Takes	25x10
Reading Quizzes	15 x 50
Writing Reflections	11 x 50
Group Projects	4 x 300
Participation	250
Total	3000

Grading

Grade	Points	Grade	Points	Grade	Points
		A	2790-3000	A-	2700-2789
B+	2601-2699	B	2499-2600	B-	2400-2498
C+	2301-2399	C	2199-2300	C-	2100-2198
D	1950-2099	F	0-1949

Due Dates

In-Class Quick Takes: These short written responses will be provided at the beginning of each class, starting in the first unit on professional issues after the last date for all class changes at the beginning of the semester.

Readings and Reading Quizzes: Readings should be done in advance of each week’s lectures. Reading quizzes are due Mondays at noon (unless otherwise specified).

Writing Reflections: Writing reflections are due Tuesdays at 5pm.

Group Projects: Group projects are due the date and time specified in the assignment.

Lecture and Assignment Schedule

Timeline	Date	Lecture Theme	Assignment
Week 1
	August 25	Course Introduction
Unit 1: Professional Issues
	August 26		Reading Quiz 00
	August 27	The Meritocracy
Week 2
	August 31		Reading Quiz 01
	September 1	Careers	Dialogue Group Formation Deadline
	September 3	Hiring
Week 3
	September 7		Reading Quiz 02
	September 8	Immigration and Diversity in STEM	Writing Reflection 00
	September 10	Negotiation, Promotion, Mobility
Week 4
	September 14		Reading Quiz 03
	September 15	Work-Life Balance	Writing Reflection 01
	September 17	Ethical Dilemmas in the Workplace
Unit 2: Philosophy of Technology
Week 5
	September 21		Reading Quiz 04
	September 22	Utiltarianism, Kantianism, Virtue Ethics	Writing Reflection 02
	September 24	Conventional Approaches to Technology Ethics	Project 00 Deliverable
Week 6
	September 28		Reading Quiz 05
	September 29	Heidegger's Question Concerning Technology	Writing Reflection 03
	October 1	Persuasive Design, Design Patterns
Week 7
	October 5		Reading Quiz 06
	October 6	Designing Software Underpinned by Virtue Ethics	Writing Reflection 04
Unit 3: Social Media
	October 8	The Early History of Computer Networks	Project 01 Deliverable
Week 8
	October 12		Reading Quiz 07
	October 13	Social Media, Mental Health and Culture	Writing Reflection 05
	October 15	Catholic Social Teaching and Social Media
Fall Break
	October 20
	October 22
Week 9
	October 26		Reading Quiz 08
	October 27	Surveillance Capitalism
	October 29	Enshittification
Week 10
	November 2		Reading Quiz 09
	November 3	Case Studies Applying Catholic Social Teaching to Social Media	Writing Reflection 06
	November 5	Survey of Emerging Alternative Technologies
Unit 4: Artifical Intelligence
Week 11
	November 9		Reading Quiz 10
	November 10	Timeline of AI Development	Writing Reflection 07
	November 12	Rationalism and Effective Altruism	Project 02 Deliverable
Week 12
	November 17		Reading Quiz 11
	November 17	Accelerationism	Writing Reflection 08
	November 19	Superintelligence Skepticism
Week 13
	November 23		Reading Quiz 12
	November 24	AI That Exploits Vulnerable Groups	Writing Reflection 09
Thanksgiving Break
	November 26
Week 14
	November 30		Reading Quiz 13
	December 1	Virtue Ethics and AI
	December 3	Vatican on AI
Course Wrap-Up
Week 15
	December 7		Reading Quiz 14
	December 8	Building a Better Future	Writing Reflection 10
Week 16
	December 11		Project 03 Deliverable

Policies

Participation

Students are expected to attend and contribute regularly in class. This means answering questions in class, participating in discussions and other in-class activities, and helping other students.

Use of personal devices (e.g., phones, laptops) during class is not allowed. The course staff wants all students to be engaged with the material and not distracted by other things. (We'll even discuss this social concern in class during the semester.) Students not adhering to this policy will lose participation points at the instructor's discretion. 

Foreseeable absences should be discussed with the instructor ahead of time.

In-Class Quick Takes

All in-class quick takes must be completed individually in-person and submitted at the beginning of each class they are assigned in.

Reading Quizzes

All Reading Quizzes must be completed individually and submitted via the appropriate Google Form.

Writing Reflections

Each writing reflection should be prepared as a Google Doc. At the time of the first assignment, share a Google drive for this class with our TA Louisa. For each assignment, prepare a doc named using this convention: lastname_firstname_duedate. Louisa will collect each assignment directly from your drive after it is due.

Group Projects

Group project deliverables should be placed in a Google drive and shared with Louisa by one member of your group. After you form your group, nominate one of the members as the scribe who will handle deliverables for the semester. 

Students with Disabilities

Any student who has a documented disability and is registered with Sara Bea Accessibility Services should speak with the professor as soon as possible regarding accommodations. Students who are not registered should contact Sara Bea Accessibility Services.

Academic Honesty

Any academic misconduct in this course is considered a serious offense, and the strongest possible academic penalties will be pursued for such behavior. Students may discuss high-level ideas with other students, but at the time of implementation (i.e., writing), each person must do his/her own work. Use of the Internet as a reference is allowed but directly copying code or other information is cheating. It is cheating to copy, to allow another person to copy, all or part of an assignment.

Use of generative AI to produce text and/or other media for writing reflections and project deliverables is strictly prohibited unless the output is for demonstration purposes relevant to the context of the assignment and clearly noted as such. Representing work that you did not produce as your own, including work generated or materially modified by AI, constitutes academic dishonesty. Use of generative AI in a way that violates an instructor’s articulated policy, or using it to complete coursework in a way not expressly permitted by the faculty member, will be considered a violation of the Honor Code.

It is also a violation of the Honor Code to observe and then fail to report academic dishonesty. You are responsible for the security and integrity of your own work.

Late Work

In the case of a serious illness or other excused absence, as defined by university policies, coursework submissions (with the exception of in-class quick takes) will be accepted late by the same number of days as the excused absence.

Otherwise, a late penalty, as determined by the instructor, will be assessed to any late submission of an assignment. In general, the late penalty is 25% off for less than a week and 50% off for more than a week. The instructor reserves the right to refuse any unexcused late work.

Classroom Recording

Notre Dame has implemented a classroom recording system. This system allows us to record and distribute lectures to you in a secure environment. You can watch these recordings on your computer, tablet, or smartphone. The recordings can be accessed via a request made to the instructor.

Because we will be recording in the classroom on select occasions, your questions and comments may be recorded. (Video recordings typically only capture the front of the classroom.) If you have any concerns about your voice or image being recorded, please speak to me to determine an alternative means of participating. No content will be shared with individuals outside of your course without your permission except for faculty and staff that need access for support or specific academic purposes.

These recordings are jointly copyrighted by the University of Notre Dame and your instructor. Posting them to other websites, including YouTube, TikTok, Vimeo, or elsewhere without express, written permission may result in disciplinary action and possible civil prosecution.

CSE Guide to the Honor Code

For the assignments in this class, you may discuss with other students and consult printed and online resources. You may quote from books and online sources as long as you cite them properly. However, you may not look at another student's solution, and you may not copy solutions.

The following table summarizes how you may work with other students and use print/online sources:

	Resources	Solutions
Consulting	Allowed	Not Allowed
Copying	Cite	Not Allowed

For further guidance please refer to the CSE Honor Code or ask the instructor.