Response Essays

ENGL 212 – Winter 2024

Due dates on Canvas by 11:59 p.m.:

RE #1: Monday, January 29
RE #2: Monday, March 4
RE #3: Monday, April 15
RE #4: Saturday, May 4
Length: 1,000 words each
Percentage of final grade: 5% each
Number of sources: No outside sources—only sources I’ve assigned in each phase.
Citation Style: APA or MLA
Document design: 12-point Times New Roman or Calibri, 1” margins
Acceptable file types: .doc, .docx, .rtf, .pdf

Assignment Description
For these assignments, you will need to respond to each question using specific examples from our
reading and viewing. You must respond to each question in 200 words (1,000 words for the essay) and
refer to texts I’ve assigned for the specific phase. If you reference sources from different phases or
sources that I haven’t assigned, you will not receive credit for that question. Your responses should
demonstrate that you’ve read and thought about the material. You must include in-text citations and a
references page.

Phase 1: Weeks 1-2

1. In what ways can learning from past “technopanics” help us develop more balanced and
informed discussions about the potential impacts of new technologies on society?
2. How have technopanics influenced public perception and policy-making in the past?
3. In what ways do you think the media and popular culture contribute to the fear of technology,
such as robots and artificial intelligence?
4. How do you think the rapid advancement of technology affects people’s perception of and
relationship with technology?
5. Can you think of any instances where technological advancements have led to unintended
consequences? How can we mitigate these risks while still embracing technological progress?

Phase 2: Weeks 3-8

1. How can the development of more functional and affordable prosthetic designs help make
bionic limbs more accessible to a wider range of users?
2. What are some of the key factors that need to be considered when designing bionic limbs that
are both functional and affordable?
3. How do you think the next step for wearables, such as illness “warning lights,” could impact
healthcare and patient engagement?
4. What are some of the potential benefits and challenges of using cryonics as a means to achieve
immortality?
5. In what ways does bioart encourage discussion on the relationship between living and nonliving
organisms, and how does it force the audience to engage with the strange merger of science and
creativity?
Phase 3: Weeks 9-12
1. How might the future of AI-driven creative tools (like BrickIt and Giertz’s tools) continue to
evolve, and what potential advancements could be made in this field?
2. How might educating the public about the realities of robots and AI help to alleviate these
misconceptions and promote more informed discussions about their potential applications and
implications?
3. What are some of the potential implications of granting robots like Sophia citizenship, and how
might this affect the development of robotic technologies and their integration into society?
4. What are some of the potential benefits and challenges of implementing autonomous vehicles
on a large scale?
5. How might the development and adoption of self-driving cars impact various aspects of society,
such as transportation, urban planning, and the environment?

Phase 4: Weeks 13-16

1. What are some of the key differences between human creativity and AI-generated creativity?
2. How might AI help free human creativity by taking over routine tasks and allowing humans to
focus on more creative aspects of their work?
3. How do AI-generated faces challenge our perception of reality, and what are the potential
consequences of this technology?
4. What are some of the potential dangers of deepfakes, particularly in the context of politics and
misinformation?
5. How do you think deepfake technology might impact the way we perceive and trust online
content?

Grading
I will be looking for specific references to the assigned texts and proper citations. I will use the ENGL 212
rubric to grade these essays. I expect you to read an incorporate my feedback into subsequent essays.