PHIL7125: Future of the Information Economy
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Spring 2026
In 1930, John Maynard Keynes predicted that by the early 21st century, technological progress would reduce the average workweek to just 15 hours. He was spectacularly wrong. This course begins with Keynes' failed prediction and uses it as a springboard to investigate fundamental questions about work, welfare, and the future of the information economy.
We will explore both normative and empirical dimensions of work in contemporary society. Is there a duty to work? Should we want to work, or is the desire for work merely an adaptive preference? What role should cash transfers and universal basic income play in addressing economic inequality, and why might money alone be insufficient for human flourishing? As artificial intelligence increasingly automates cognitive labor, how should we think about the future division of labor and the role of diversity in knowledge production? Finally, we'll examine political economic frameworks for organizing work and ensuring that meaningful employment remains accessible to all.
Drawing on philosophy, economics, and political theory, this course interrogates both the descriptive puzzles and normative challenges posed by technological change, automation, and evolving conceptions of work. Through close engagement with contemporary scholarship, students will develop the analytical tools to critically assess proposals for reorganizing work and the economy in an age of rapid technological transformation.
Required Reading
Required Reading
Recommended Reading / Other Resources
Piper - Giving People Money Helped Less Than I Thought it Would
View ArticleThe Unconditional Cash Study
View StudyFreakonomics - Is The World Ready for a UBI?
Podcast / TranscriptHK Gov Economist - An Overview of Universal Basic Income from an International Perspective
View PDFRequired Reading
Required Reading
Althorpe & Finneron-Burns - Productive Justice in the Post-Work Future
View PDFRequired Reading
TBD
Required Reading
Sharadin - AI & Cognitive Work - Chapter 3: The Upside of Displacement
Sharadin - AI & Cognitive Work - Chapter 4: The Downside of Assistance
Recommended Reading / Other Resources
TBD
Date: March 2
Format: In-class. A combination of Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) and Short Answer questions.
This exam evaluates your technical precision and conceptual understanding of the material covered from Weeks 1 through 4. MCQs will test your grasp of specific definitions, distinctions, and logic, while Short Answers will require you to succinctly explain core arguments or reconstruct a specific dialectic from the readings. The midterm only covers material up to "Centaur Everything" on the Week 4 slides.
Due: 24 hours before class (via Submission link, below).
Format: 300–500 words.
For 5 of the instruction weeks, you must submit a short analytic response to one of the required readings for that week. These responses should not merely summarize the text; instead, they should either reconstruct a specific argument in logical form or raise a focused philosophical objection to a specific premise. These submissions will serve as starting points for seminar discussions.
For more details, see the Taxonomy of Responses.
Date: May 11.
Format: In-class. A combination of Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) and Short Answer questions.
This exam evaluates your technical precision and conceptual understanding of the material covered from Weeks 6 through 9. MCQs will test your grasp of specific definitions, distinctions, and logic, while Short Answers will require you to succinctly explain core arguments or reconstruct a specific dialectic from the readings or course meetings.
Due: May 10.
Format: 1000–1300 words. Submit via Moodle (moodle.hku.hk).
At the end of the term, you will submit a research proposal that identifies a research problem, question, or direction inspired by the course and our discussions. Your proposal should: (1) clearly articulate the research question or problem and explain why it matters for philosophy, politics, and/or economics, (2) situate your question in relation to the themes we discussed, and (3) meaningfully outline how you would approach investigating this question—what methods, frameworks, or resources would you use? This is not a literature review or a full research design, but rather a focused pitch that demonstrates you can identify a worthwhile question and think critically about how to pursue it. Your proposal may connect to your own capstone (thesis) interests or explore entirely new territory opened up by the course. This assignment asks you to synthesize what you've learned and demonstrate that you can generate original research ideas in conversation with the work of established scholars.
This course follows all relevant HKU policies, e.g., on plagiarism, academic freedom, and research integrity. Weekly responses inform class discussion and may be used to improve course materials and teaching methods. Please also review the Mental Health and Well-Being Statement.
• A request for an appointment
Submit a paper or other longer assignment via Moodle @ HKU (https://moodle.hku.hk/)
If you want to contact me about something else, please email me (sharadin@hku.hk) or book an appointment during my office hours.