Predicting the Future Impacts of AI: McLuhan’s Tetrad Framework

內容大綱
This case introduces students to McLuhan’s tetrad model through a structured learning experience. Before class, students read a mini-case exploring the Zoom videoconferencing software as an example of how to apply the tetrad’s four dimensions—enhancement, obsolescence, retrieval, and reversal—and listen to the author’s podcast about the use of algorithmic control in digital labour platforms. In class, students engage in a team-based exercise using the tetrad to predict the future of algorithmic control in digital labour platforms and gain a deeper understanding of McLuhan’s model. This approach will equip students with systemic thinking skills and a structured framework for analyzing the hidden and unforeseen impacts of AI-based technologies.
學習目標
After working through the case and assignment questions, students should be able to do the following:<ul><li>Recognize the hidden, multifaceted impact of AI technology in four dimensions—enhancement, obsolescence, retrieval, and reversal.</li><li>Conduct a balanced analysis of AI technology by avoiding extremes such as utopian or dystopian views that oversimplify reality.</li><li>Build realistic future scenarios for AI by a comprehensive analysis of both opportunities and challenges.</li><li>Engage in proactive planning for future societal, organizational, and individual challenges.</li><li>Enhance their critical thinking skills with historical insights connecting today’s AI with past technological trends to better predict its future impacts.</li><li>Cultivate a systemic perspective that considers the interconnectedness of the dimensions of the tetrad in evaluating AI technologies.</li></ul>
涵蓋主題
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