IS41080 AI Ethics

Academic Year 2021/2022

Artificial Intelligence is presenting urgent ethical questions and is currently the focus of much attention from both government and industry. This module explores foundational ethical issues such as the relationship between AI and human autonomy, ethical frameworks, bias and discrimination in AI. This course takes a multidisciplinary viewpoint incorporating concepts from a range of disciplines including social science, philosophy, law and computing. Solutions to ethical issues will be examined from a theoretical, technical and regulatory perspective. The aim of this module is to equip students with the skills and expertise to understand the source of ethical issues in AI, potential solutions and critically examine the ethical implications of AI systems. Students will learn how to conduct a comprehensive ethical audit of an AI systems.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of key concepts in ethical AI
2. Describe the state of the art in addressing issues of bias from a theoretical, technical and regulatory perspective
3. Critically evaluate the ethical implications of an AI system
4. Engage in contemporary debates in the field of ethical AI
5. Conduct a formal ethical audit of an AI system

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

40
Autonomous Student Learning

260
Total

300
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
This module is a 2-week intensive module. The course will be delivered through a combination of lectures and workshop sessions. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Assignment: Literature review - theoretical approaches to AI ethics Unspecified n/a Graded No

15
Assignment: Project - Audit and proposed solution - Pre-proposal, proposal, midterm presentations, final report and presentations
 Unspecified n/a Graded No

40
Assignment: Review of approaches to ethical audits of AI systems Unspecified n/a Graded No

15
Assignment: Survey of existing toolkits/audits for ethical AI Unspecified n/a Graded No

15
Assignment: Survey of ethical issues in artificial intelligence Unspecified n/a Graded No

15

Carry forward of passed components
No
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.