Topic: The Status of Artificial Intelligence. Will we be displaced by thinking machines in the next fifty years?
Volume: 5 pages
Type: Essay
Format: MLA
Description
This is not supposed to be a major research project. You shouldn’t have to use more than two or three sources.(use only 2 or 3 work cited) Try to aim for the sort of detail you might find in a New Scientist or Discovery article. total 5 pages essay with basic style: intro, bodies, and conclusion (dont count reference page in 5 pages) (if you count reference page, then it will be 6 page essay)
Make sure you reference your sources. Also this is not supposed to be a major research project. You
shouldn’t have to use more than two or three sources. Try to aim for the sort of detail you might find in
a New Scientist or Discovery article.
plead for an extension, as many of you did on the last one. Note that extensions beyond the last day of
classes cannot happen.
Four or five pages should do the job, but feel free to write more. Write in real sentences, don’t use
bulleted lists. Use your own words; no cut and paste. This essay will count for 15% of the grade. Content
and clarity of presentation will count for 10%. Style, i.e. use of correct syntax and grammar, and wellconstructed
sentences, will count for 3%. Originality will count for 2%. It’s best to use some kind of
word-processor software, rather than hand-written.
Reading
You should have read Chapters 13 and 14 of Franklin’s book by the end of March.
Office Hours
Suggested Topics:
• The future of fossil fuels, and can they be replaced by renewables in a useful timescale?
• The future of Fusion Power. When, if ever, will the developed world be able to rely on fusion?
• The future of Fission Power. Will new reactor designs, thorium reactors, or accelerator driven
reactors make fission the energy source of choice in the next hundred years?
• Will industrialized superconductivity applications have an impact on society?
• Hadron Therapy for Cancer. Is it economic? Does it show any advantage over electron/gamma
and chemotherapy?
• The impact of genetically engineered crops. Is it a good idea?
• The Status of Artificial Intelligence. Will we be displaced by thinking machines in the next fifty
years?
• Is String Theory Science?
