SOC 372 | Course Introduction and Application Information - Department of Sociology

Course Name

Artificial Intelligence and Society

Code	Semester	Theory (hour/week)	Application/Lab (hour/week)	Local Credits	ECTS
SOC 372	Fall/Spring	3	0	3	6

Prerequisites	None
Course Language	English
Course Type	Elective
Course Level	First Cycle
Mode of Delivery	face to face
Teaching Methods and Techniques of the Course	Discussion Group Work Q&A Lecture / Presentation
National Occupation Classification	-
Course Coordinator	Prof. Dr. Hatice Deniz YÜKSEKER TEKİN
Course Lecturer(s)	Arş.Gör.Dr. Borabay ERBAY
Assistant(s)	-

Course Objectives	This course aims to explore the relationship between artificial intelligence and society by examining how AI technologies shape, and are shaped by, cultural, political, and economic forces.
Learning Outcomes	The students who succeeded in this course; will be able to explain the fundamental social, political, and ethical implications of artificial intelligence technologies. will be able to analyze real-world case studies involving AI in relation to surveillance, labor, inequality, and cultural representation. will be able to evaluate the role of bias and discrimination in algorithmic decision-making systems. will be able to discuss how AI is imagined and portrayed in popular media and its effects on public perception.
Course Description	This course explores the social dimensions of artificial intelligence, focusing on how AI technologies interact with culture, politics, labor, and everyday life. Through interdisciplinary readings, multimedia content, and class discussions, students will critically engage with topics such as algorithmic bias, surveillance, automation, and digital ethics. The course also examines how AI is represented in popular media and public discourse.
Related Sustainable Development Goals

Course Category	Core Courses
	Major Area Courses
	Supportive Courses	X
	Media and Management Skills Courses
	Transferable Skill Courses

Week	Subjects	Related Preparation
1	Introduction
2	From Automata to Automation and Intelligent Systems: A Historical Background of Artificial Intelligence	Bruce G. Buchanan, “A (Very) Brief History of Artificial Intelligence,” AI Magazine 26, no. 4 (2005): 53–60
3	Demystifying the Machine: Sociological Definitions of AI	Zheng Liu, “Sociological Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence: A Typological Reading,” Sociology Compass 15, no. 3 (2021) Kelly Joyce and Taylor M. Cruz, “A Sociology of Artificial Intelligence: Inequalities, Power, and Data Justice,” Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World 10 (2024): 1–6
4	Bias by Design	Cathy O’Neil, Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy (New York: Crown Publishing Group, 2016), Introduction and Chapter 1, pp. 1–28.
5	Surveillance & Data Capitalism	Kate Crawford, Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2021), Chapter 6, “State,” pp. 181–208.
6	Labor, Automation and Social Inequalities	Kate Crawford, Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2021) Chapter 2, “Labor,” pp. 39–68.
7	AI Myths & Popular Culture	Stephen Cave and Kanta Dihal, “A Brief History of AI Narratives,” in AI Narratives: A History of Imaginative Thinking About Intelligent Machines, eds. Stephen Cave, Kanta Dihal, and Sarah Dillon (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020), 3–24. Tom Pollard, “Popular Culture’s AI Fantasies: Killers and Exploiters or Assistants and Companions?” Perspectives on Global Development and Technology 19 (2020): 97–109.
8	Intimacy and Companionship	Sherry Turkle, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other (New York: Basic Books, 2011), Chapters 8 and 10, pp. 173–205 and 231–260. Sike Gao, “A Study of Datafication and Digital Intimacy on Tinder,” Media and Communication Research 6, no. 2 (2025): 126–132.
9	Midterm Week
10	Healthcare and Ethics	Meredith Broussard, Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2018), Chapter 1, “Hello, Reader,” pp. 1–12. Journal Article: Ziad Obermeyer, Brian Powers, Christine Vogeli, and Sendhil Mullainathan, “Dissecting Racial Bias in an Algorithm Used to Manage the Health of Populations,” Science 366, no. 6464 (2019): 447–453.
11	Creativity and Authorship	Roosa Wingström, Johanna Hautala, and Riina Lundman, “Redefining Creativity in the Era of AI? Perspectives of Computer Scientists and New Media Artists,” Creativity Research Journal 36, no. 2 (2024): 177–193, https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2022.2107850.
12	Environmental Impacts of AI and Climate Justice	Kate Crawford, Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2021), Chapter 3, “Earth,” pp. 69–100.
13	Global AI and Colonialism	Kate Crawford, Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2021), Chapter 5, “Power,” pp. 153–180.
14	Imagining AI Otherwise	Luciano Floridi, “Soft Ethics, the Governance of the Digital and the General Data Protection Regulation,” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A 376, no. 2128 (2018): 20180081,
15	Semester Review
16	Final Exam

Course Notes/Textbooks

Readings suggested in the syllabus.

Suggested Readings/Materials

Kate Crawford, Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2021). ISBN: 978-0300264630

Kanta Dihal, Stephen Cave, and Sarah Dillon, eds., AI Narratives: A History of Imaginative Thinking About Intelligent Machines (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020). ISBN: 978-0198914709

Cathy O’Neil, Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy (New York: Crown Publishing Group, 2016). ISBN: 978-0553418835

Janelle Shane, You Look Like a Thing and I Love You: How AI Works and Why It’s Making the World a Weirder Place (New York: Voracious, 2019). ISBN: 978-0316525220

Sherry Turkle, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other (New York: Basic Books, 2011). ISBN: 978-0465031467

Semester Activities	Number	Weigthing
Participation
Laboratory / Application
Field Work
Quizzes / Studio Critiques	5	30
Portfolio
Homework / Assignments
Presentation / Jury
Project	1	30
Seminar / Workshop
Oral Exams
Midterm
Final Exam	1	40
Total

Weighting of Semester Activities on the Final Grade	6	60
Weighting of End-of-Semester Activities on the Final Grade	1	40
Total

Semester Activities	Number	Duration (Hours)	Workload
Theoretical Course Hours (Including exam week: 16 x total hours)	16	3	48
Laboratory / Application Hours (Including exam week: '.16.' x total hours)	16		0
Study Hours Out of Class	14	3	42
Field Work			0
Quizzes / Studio Critiques	5	6	30
Portfolio			0
Homework / Assignments			0
Presentation / Jury			0
Project	1	25	25
Seminar / Workshop			0
Oral Exam			0
Midterms			0
Final Exam	1	35	35
		Total	180

#	Program Competencies/Outcomes	* Contribution Level
#	Program Competencies/Outcomes	1	2	3	4	5
1	To have the knowledge of classical and contemporary theories in sociology, and be able to comparatively analyze these theories.	-	X	-	-	-
2	To have the knowledge of main methodological approaches in sociology as well as social research and data analysis methods.	-	-	-	-	-
3	To have knowledge in the fields of general sociology, sociology of institutions, social structure and change, and applied sociology.	-	X	-	-	-
4	To be able to determine the appropriate methods in the design of the planning stage and conclusion of a sociological project, individually or as part of a team.	-	-	-	-	-
5	To be able to diagnose the social dynamics behind personal problems by using sociological imagination.	-	-	X	-	-
6	To be able to define social problems at local, national, and global level, and offer new policies for solutions.	-	-	-	-	-
7	To be able to apply commonly-used computer programs for data collection and analysis in sociological research.	-	X	-	-	-
8	To be able to develop a socially responsible, scientific and ethical perspective regarding the collection, analysis, interpretation and presentation of data.	-	-	-	-	-
9	To be able to analyze different aspects of the social world by drawing on the knowledge produced by other disciplines of the social sciences.	-	-	-	-	-
10	To be able to constantly renew herself/himself professionally by following scientific and technological developments in sociology and social research.	-	X	-	-	-
11	To be able to collect sociological data and communicate with sociologists and other social scientists in a foreign language ("European Language Portfolio Global Scale", Level B1).	-	-	-	-	-
12	To be able to speak a second foreign at a medium level of fluency efficiently.	-	-	-	-	-
13	To be able to relate the knowledge accumulated throughout the human history to their field of expertise.	-	-	-	-	-

SOC 372 | Course Introduction and Application Information

WEEKLY SUBJECTS AND RELATED PREPARATION STUDIES

EVALUATION SYSTEM

ECTS / WORKLOAD TABLE

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