Machine Psychology

This course on Machine Psychology, 7,5 credits, is offered as an online course. The course introduces machine psychology – theories and research about Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) from a psychological perspective.
Bild av DALL-E efter prompt av Robert Johansson. Adams skapelse med människohand och robothand.

Bild av DALL-E efter prompt av Robert Johansson.

The course provides a survey of how AGI differs from special-purpose (non-general) Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems, as well as addresses different approaches to AGI including brain-based approaches, large language models, and principle-based approaches.

A main part of the course introduces a particular principle-based AGI-system called Non-Axiomatic Reasoning System (NARS). This part of the course aims to address the differences between adaptive systems (like NARS) from non-adaptive systems (like GPT).

The course has a behavioral psychological orientation, and contrasts this approach to AGI with other psychological perspectives. The course also provides knowledge of principles within scientific methods that contribute to machine psychology research. The course provides tools to analyze and explain how the psychology of AGI can be applied in relation to society and individuals, including ethical considerations.

As a registered student on this course you will find detailed course information and communication in the learning platform Athena. Login with your university account.

This course has been cancelled for the autumn semester 2025.


Teaching Format

Compulsory elements may occur in the course. These are stated in the schedule and explained in more detail in the course instructions.

Detailed information can be found in the current syllabus and the course instructions for the course. A link to the syllabus can be found here on the page and the course instructions are posted on the course website in the university's learning platform no later than the start of the course.

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes for this course are listed in the current syllabus.

Assessment

Information about the forms of assessments for this course are listed in the syllabus and explained in detail in the course instructions.

You will find the dates for the examinations in the schedule.

The schedule will be available no later than one month before the start of the course. We do not recommend print-outs as changes can occur. At the start of the course, your department will advise where you can find your schedule during the course.


Note that the course literature can be changed up to two months before the start of the course.

In case the course literature list is missing, please check with the course leader before buying any expensive books etc.

Course reports are displayed for the three most recent course instances.








Course leader/examiner
Robert Johansson, robert.johansson@psychology.su.se

Registered students should primarily use our learning platform for teacher communication.

Contacts in Education

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