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After having completed this course, students will be able to understand the epistemological, methodological and ethical challenges of experimentation when artificial computational systems are concerned, by surpassing a mere technological perspective.
More generally, after the course, students will be acquainted with conceptual tools coming from the philosophical tradition; will learn how to look at usual problems from a different perspective and how this different perspective can be useful in order to help provide solutions to these problems;
be able to deal rigorously with qualitative forms of reasoning, such as in philosophy.

Course Title (additional information):
Experimentation in the digital world
Epistemological, methodological and ethical issues of experimentation in the realm of the artificial

Experimentation does not only take place in the natural sciences, but also in other disciplines such as informatics and computer engineering. With the growing importance of information technology in business and society, computers and data processing systems have assumed a central role in this context. This, however, creates new methodological challenges for experimentation which have so far received very little attention.

The course presents and analyses philosophical and methodological issues which emerge when an experimental approach is applied in the context of computer science and engineering, with a particular attention to AI and robotics.

Outline

1. Course introduction, background and expectations (2 hours)
2. The conceptual and historical foundations of the experimental method (2 hours)
3. Experimental principles in the natural sciences (2 hours)
4. Experimental principles in the engineering sciences/practices (2 hours)
5. The reproducibility crisis and its impact on computer engineering (2 hours)
6. Toward a novel notion of experimentation (2 hours)
7. Experimenting in the realm of artificial disciplines (explorative experiments) (2 hours)
8. Novel ethical frameworks for explorative experimentation (2 hours)
9. Class presentations (2 hours)
10. Class presentations (2 hours)

The course will be organized as a series of lectures and short workshop sessions in which experiences and individual and group reflections will be punctuated by discussions. Students are expected to actively engage in the classes and to participate in the activities.

The lecturer of this course will be Viola Schiaffonati / Politecnico di Milano.

This is a guest professor course of the TU Wien Informatics Doctoral School. It is targeted to Doctoral Students of the Faculty of Informatics, but, subject to availability of free seats, open to all PhD students and interested Master students.

Course dates:

Wed June 12: 9:00-13:00
Thurs June 13 9:00-13.00

Wed June 19: 9:00-13:00
Thurs June 20 9:00-13:00

Wed June 26: 9:00-13:00

Class presentations.

Please register in TISS.

Scientific papers will be provided during the course.

No prerequisite is required.