English 1A: Essay 4 Assignment
Research Essay Prompt: Develop an academic argument about artificial intelligence.
You will develop your argument from one of the sets of questions listed on the back of this
handout.
Keep in mind: While artificial intelligence has been a popular theme of fiction over the decades,
we are approaching the topic from a real-world perspective. All of your assertions and support
should be based on academic research and reliable sources.
A good topic should: 1) Interest you! You’ll write a better paper if it does. 2) Have the potential
to generate at least 1,500 words of material. 3) Be argumentative. This should be something you
cannot definitively prove but can adequately support with academic research.
Essay Requirements: Word count : 1,500 – 2,000 words. Primarily third person voice. Minimum
of 4 scholarly sources.
Your paper must:
• Not be a report, but an argument that creates a new understanding.
• Be well-organized, with a clearly stated thesis that is threaded throughout.
• Have a clear introduction and conclusion.
• Have concise, focused paragraphs with meaningful transitions.
• Be based on high-quality research from 4 outside sources. You must have a minimum of 4
secondary sources. You may have additional sources. You may utilize popular sources if they
help you support your argument, but they will not count towards your 4 required sources
• Adhere to MLA Guidelines. Include in-text citations for all paraphrased, summarized, and
quoted material. Include a works cited page.
Deadlines:
Note: No late work is accepted on the rough draft, partial draft, peer edits, or the final draft.
• Due 5/16: Partial rough draft with outline.
o At minimum, your outline should include the thesis statement, forecast statement, and
three main points. The more detailed you are, the better prepared you will be for
writing a well-developed essay.
o This partial draft must be a minimum of 700 words. This is not going to be your
complete essay.
o Partial draft peer edits are due 5/20.
• Due 5/30: Polished rough draft.
o This draft must be a minimum of 1,100 words to earn full credit.
o Polished draft peer edits are due 6/3.
• Due 6/10: Final Draft
English 1A: Essay 4 Assignment
Research Questions.
Select one of the following topics to guide your research. Your response to the set of questions
you choose will become your argument.
1. What ethical and moral standard should we use to create A.I. and confine their behaviors?
Should religion play a role?
2. Is there a single good strategy for human race for the Fourth Industrial Revolution? What
is the goal? Should governments, companies and individuals embrace A.I. and support its
development at full speed OR slow down to the right speed, executing a more wellthought plan, which could include elements such as guidelines, restrictions, control, and
taxation?
3. When A.I. take existing human jobs, are there going to be new types of jobs being
created or simply no job left? This particularly refers to the service industry and mental
jobs, from more sophisticated (e.g. doctors, lawyers, teachers, insurance agent) to more
skill-based (e.g. drivers).
4. Is A.I. making our legacies more relevant or less? Is A.I. helping our societies and
civilizations to develop?
5. Should we allow A.I. to live on its own and be responsible for its own actions without an
owner or creator?
6. Will A.I. brings us more benefits or create more problems? Can A.I. bring better forms of
society and lifestyles, improve sustainability, solve pressing world problems, speed up
science and technological development to a more positive direction OR pose a threat to
us (with social instability, increased inequality, job displacement without creating new
jobs) and drive science and technological development in a more negative direction?
7. Should we design humanoid robots? Some humans prefer
interacting with hyper-realistic human-like robots while others
find it disturbing. The more we humanize chatbots, virtual assistants, and machines, the
more we display human emotions toward them. Now that many
A.I.s and conversational bots have the illusion of being selfaware, they trigger emotional responses in their users as if they
were human. What compassion do we owe A.I.? What ethical
concerns should we address? What are the implications?
