Course Overview

Course participants will explore history and context, characterize key problems, assess their severity, predict their future, speculate on how much of what we are facing is inevitable, and think about what steps might avoid or mitigate the most undesirable outcomes. This will be guided by reading and class discussion of recent works on the topic.

Course Details

Instructor: Professor Carl Gunter
Teaching Assistant: Denizhan Kara & Ritika Vithani
Schedule: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
Location: 1214 Siebel Center for Computer Science
Semester: Fall 2025

Key Topics

Freedom and the Rule of Law
Social Discourse
Fate of Humanity
Information Technology Industry
Fairness
Privacy and Surveillance
Political Change
Security

Required Reading

1. Tools and Weapons: The Promise and the Peril of the Digital Age by Brad Smith (President of Microsoft) and Carol Ann Browne

An insider’s perspective on how technology companies must navigate innovation and social responsibility. Covers cybersecurity, AI ethics, privacy vs. security, and the dual nature of technological progress. Essential for understanding corporate responsibility in the digital age.

Where to get: UIUC Library (check digital collection) | Amazon ($15.99 paperback, $12.99 Kindle) | Barnes & Noble | University Bookstore

2. Your Face Belongs to Us: A Secretive Startup’s Quest to End Privacy as We Know It by Kashmir Hill (New York Times Technology Reporter)

A gripping investigative account of Clearview AI’s creation of a facial recognition tool that scraped billions of photos from social media. Explores the erosion of anonymity in public spaces and the implications for privacy, law enforcement, and civil liberties.

Where to get: UIUC Library | Amazon ($17.00 hardcover, $13.99 Kindle) | Barnes & Noble | Local bookstores

3. Klara and the Sun (if time allows) by Kazuo Ishiguro (Nobel Prize-winning author)

A haunting novel told from the perspective of an Artificial Friend observing human relationships and society. Raises profound questions about AI consciousness, technological inequality, and what it means to love and be loved in an age of artificial beings.

Where to get: UIUC Library | Amazon ($16.95 paperback, $13.99 Kindle) | Barnes & Noble | Book clubs

Syllabus

CS 464: Topics in Societal and Ethical Impacts of Computer Technology – “Cyber Dystopia”

Fall 2025 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Instructor: Professor Carl Gunter Schedule: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM Location: 1214 Siebel Center for Computer Science

Course Overview

Most university training in Computer Science focuses on technology advancement: writing more efficient programs, mining over bigger data, teaching a computer to more accurately distinguish a cat from a dog, and so on. The Cyber Dystopia course focuses instead on the downsides of such technology advancement. Course participants will explore history and context, characterize key problems, assess their severity, predict their future, speculate on how much of what we are facing is inevitable, and think about what steps might avoid or mitigate the most undesirable outcomes. This will be guided by reading and class discussion of recent works on the topic.

Course Topics Include:

Freedom and the Rule of Law
Social Discourse
Fate of Humanity
Information Technology Industry
Fairness
Privacy and Surveillance
Political Change
Security

Required Reading List

First Book: Tools and Weapons: The Promise and the Peril of the Digital Age by Brad Smith and Carol Ann Browne

Reading Schedule:

Course Introduction
Chapter 4: Cybersecurity: The Wake-Up Call From the World
Chapter 6: Social Media, The Freedom That Drives Us Apart
Chapter 11: AI and Ethics: Don’t Ask What Computers Can Do Ask What they Should Do
Chapter 12: AI and Facial Recognition: Do Our Faces Deserve the Same Protection as our Phones?
Chapter 13: AI and the Workforce: The Day the Horse lost its job?
Chapter 16: Conclusion: Managing Technology that is Bigger than Ourselves

Second Book: Your Face Belongs to Us: A Secretive Startup’s Quest to End Privacy as We Know It by Kashmir Hill

Third Book: Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (time permitting)

Course Format

This course is discussion-based, emphasizing critical analysis and thoughtful debate about the societal implications of emerging technologies. Students will engage with contemporary issues through guided reading discussions, exploring both the promise and perils of digital advancement.

Note: Reading schedules for the second and third books will be announced as the semester progresses. The course emphasizes critical thinking about technology’s impact on society rather than technical implementation.

Weekly Discussions and Assignments

December 10, 2025

Last day of instruction. No class planned.

December 9, 2025

Last day of class. We will do a course wrap-up and reflections.

December 4, 2025

Discussion day. Finish “Chapter 6” from the “Klara and the Sun” book. You should come to class for the discussion.

December 2, 2025

Reading day. Read “Chapter 6” from the “Klara and the Sun” book. You may or may not come to class for reading.

November 22-30, 2025

Fall Break (no classes).

November 20, 2025

Discussion day. Finish “Chapter 5” from the “Klara and the Sun” book. You should come to class for the discussion.

November 18, 2025

Reading day. Read “Chapter 5” from the “Klara and the Sun” book. You may or may not come to class for reading.

November 13, 2025

Discussion day. Finish “Chapter 4” from the “Klara and the Sun” book. You should come to class for the discussion.

November 11, 2025

Reading day. Read “Chapter 4” from the “Klara and the Sun” book. You may or may not come to class for reading.

November 6, 2025

Discussion day. Finish “Chapter 3” from the “Klara and the Sun” book. You should come to class for the discussion.

November 4, 2025

Reading day. Read “Chapter 3” from the “Klara and the Sun” book. You may or may not come to class for reading.

October 30, 2025

Discussion day. Finish “Chapter 2” from the “Klara and the Sun” book. You should come to class for the discussion.

October 28, 2025

Reading day. Read “Chapter 2” from the “Klara and the Sun” book. You may or may not come to class for reading.

October 23, 2025

Discussion day. Finish “Chapter 1” from the “Klara and the Sun” book. You should come to class for the discussion.

October 21, 2025

Reading day. Read “Chapter 1” from the “Klara and the Sun” book. You may or may not come to class for reading.

October 16, 2025

Discussion day. Finish “Chapter 16: Conclusion: Managing Technology that is Bigger than Ourselves” from the book. You should come to class for the discussion.

October 14, 2025

Reading day. Read “Chapter 16: Conclusion: Managing Technology that is Bigger than Ourselves” from the first book. You may or may not come to class for reading.

October 9, 2025

Discussion day. Finish “Chapter 13: AI and the Workforce: The Day the Horse lost its job?” from the book. You should come to class for the discussion.

October 7, 2025

Reading day. Read “Chapter 13: AI and the Workforce: The Day the Horse lost its job?” from the first book. You may or may not come to class for reading.

October 2, 2025

Discussion day. Finish “Chapter 12: AI and Facial Recognition: Do Our Faces Deserve the Same Protection as our Phones?” from the book. You should come to class for the discussion.

September 30, 2025

Reading day. Read “Chapter 12: AI and Facial Recognition: Do Our Faces Deserve the Same Protection as our Phones?” from the first book. You may or may not come to class for reading.

September 25, 2025

Discussion day. Finish the first AI chapter from the first book, titled “AI and Ethics: Don’t Ask What Computers Can Do Ask What they Should Do”. You should come to class for the discussion.

September 23, 2025

Reading day. Read the first AI chapter from the first book, titled “AI and Ethics: Don’t Ask What Computers Can Do Ask What they Should Do”. You may or may not come to class for reading.

September 18, 2025

Discussion day. Finish Chapter from the first book titled “Guns Will Turn”. You should come to class for the discussion.

September 16, 2025

Reading day. Read Chapter from the first book titled “Guns Will Turn”. You may or may not come to class for reading.
Note: Depending on the book’s version or publish date, the “Guns Will Turn” chapter may be in different chapter numbers. Make sure you are reading the chapter titled “Guns Will Turn”.

September 11, 2025

Discussion day. Finish Chapter from the first book titled “Social Media”. You should come to class for the discussion.

September 9, 2025

Reading day. Read Chapter from the first book titled “Social Media: The Freedom That Drives Us Apart”. You may or may not come to class for reading.
Note: Depending on the book’s version or publish date, the “Social Media” chapter may be Chapter 5 or 6. Make sure you are reading the chapter titled “Social Media”.

September 4, 2025

Discussion day. Finish Chapter 4 from the first book titled “Cybersecurity”. You should come to class for the discussion.

September 2, 2025

Reading day. Read Chapter 4 from the first book titled “Cybersecurity”. You may or may not come to class for reading.
Note: Depending on the book’s version or publish date, the “Cybersecurity” chapter may not be Chapter 4, and instead it can be in Chapter 1. Make sure you are reading the chapter titled “CyberSecurity”.

August 28, 2025

Topic: Chapter 4 Discussion from the first book: “Cybersecurity: The Wake-Up Call From the World”

Assignment/TODO:

Get the first book, “Tools and Weapons”.
Start reading Chapter 4.

August 26, 2025

First Class Meeting Topic: Course Introduction and Overview

Introduction to Cyber Dystopia themes
Course expectations and format
Overview of Tools and Weapons
Introduction to Chapter 4 (first reading assignment)

Reading Assignment: Due in 2 weeks: Chapter 4 – “Cybersecurity: The Wake-Up Call From the World”

This chapter explores how cybersecurity has become a global challenge, examining major cyberattacks and their implications for individuals, corporations, and governments. Come prepared to discuss the tension between security and privacy in our digital age.