Artificial Intelligence and Philosophy
Artificial intelligence and philosophy is a degree that takes seriously both the technical and the conceptual dimensions of one of the most consequential developments in contemporary life. Artificial intelligence, as a technical discipline, involves the design of systems that can learn, reason, and act in ways that were previously thought to require human intelligence. Philosophy, as a discipline, asks the questions that technical work alone cannot answer: what is intelligence, what is consciousness, what does it mean to understand rather than merely to compute, and what ethical constraints should govern the design and deployment of systems that make decisions affecting human lives?
At King's College London this three-year programme, the first of its kind in the UK, combines technical AI training with philosophical enquiry, giving you both the ability to build and evaluate AI systems and the conceptual tools to think carefully about what those systems are doing and what they should be allowed to do. The course includes a year abroad, giving you an international dimension to your studies. You will develop programming and machine learning skills alongside engagement with the philosophy of mind, ethics, the philosophy of language, and the long history of thinking about intelligence, reason, and agency that precedes and continues to inform contemporary AI research.
Graduates from this combination are equipped for careers in technology, government, journalism, policy, research, and any field where the development and governance of AI is a central concern. The technical skills make you valuable to companies building AI systems, while the philosophical training makes you capable of asking the questions that shape how those systems are designed and regulated. Further study at postgraduate level in AI, philosophy, cognitive science, law and technology, or AI ethics is a natural next step for those who wish to specialise or pursue a research career in what is one of the most important and rapidly evolving areas of intellectual and professional life.