AI IN SCIENCE AND SOCIETY Track
From 2024-2025 onward, students in the PSTS programme can choose to enter a special one-year AI in Science and Society track at the end of their first year. This is a one-year track consisting of 25 EC of advanced courses in the specific domain and a MSc thesis supervised by a staff member with research expertise in AI. Students taking the AI in Science and Society track graduate as regular PSTS students but with the distinction of having taken the track. Note that the AI in Science and Society track and the 4TU.Ethics Ethics and Technology track are mutually exclusive.
AI-related job opportunities (both academic and non-academic) now abound due to the increasingly significant role of AI-based technologies in societal domains such as healthcare, finance, education, and governance. As a result, both private and non-private organizations are now hiring for AI-related positions, such as AI ethics consultants and AI policymakers, in addition to technical AI experts. Academic job opportunities, especially at the level of PhD positions in both Philosophy and STS, are also increasing due to the increasing allocation of grant funding to AI-related projects, especially in the Netherlands.
Curriculum
1st semester
Block 1A (Q1) courses:
- Transformation of Knowledge in a Digital Age - 5 EC (obligatory)
- Good Technology for Users and Society - 5 EC (obligatory)
- Technologies in Use - 5 EC (elective, choose one)
- Technologies and Discourse - 5 EC (elective, choose one)
Block 1B (Q2) courses:
- Rethinking Science-Technology Relations - 5 EC (obligatory)
- Ethics and Epistemology of AI: Machines, Minds and Society - 5 EC (obligatory)
- Anticipation and Evaluation of Emerging Technologies - 5 EC (elective, choose one)
- Minds, Bodies and Technologies - 5 EC (elective, choose one)
2nd semester
Block 2A (Q3) + Block 2B (Q4)
- Master’s Thesis related to AI - 30 EC
Throughout the entire 2nd year:
- MasterLab - 5 EC (obligatory)
The track thus consists of four 5 EC obligatory courses and one 5 EC elective course. Students admitted to the track may replace up to two courses by choosing suitable 5 EC courses from PSTS or other MSc programmes. MasterLab and the PSTS Skills Portfolio cannot be replaced. The replacement courses must be approved by the programme director as well as the track coordinator.
If a course provides a specific AI in Science and Society track assignment, students in this track must take that particular assignment.
Admission criteria
The track has no special admission requirements.
However, students who want to participate in the track must register by emailing the track coordinator, Dr. Koray Karaca (with CC to the PSTS study adviser), before 1 July. The registration allows us to plan ahead, for instance, to anticipate the number of thesis supervisors needed.