SCISOC 610S
Novel Problems: Contemporary Fiction and the Ethics of Emerging Technologies
Casey A. Mock
Description from DukeHub
Through literary texts in which technology alters power structures, reshapes institutional controls, and changes how people relate, this course examines the philosophical and policy issues fiction raises amid today’s technology challenges. We will read Ted Chiang, Jennifer Egan, George Saunders, Margaret Atwood, and David Foster Wallace, exploring truth, compliance, governmental power, and technology’s exploitation of our insecurities. This is not a course in science fiction, but in understanding science’s impact on society through fiction. We will also examine good storytelling about emerging technology, including companies’ stories about their products and the ethical issues they raise.
Skills
- writingdescription: "fiction" and 3 more
- policy and lawdescription: "policy" and 1 more
AI-resilient: 2 of 5
- No: Physical, lab or field work
- No: Live work with people
- Yes: Judgment someone is accountable for · "ethics"
- No: A craft you practice with your hands or body
- Yes: Small, in-person format · seminar, 12 seats per section
The checks lean on Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025), which found generative AI applies least to physical work and hands-on work with people. A signal, not a promise. How the score works
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