This course deals on how to reflect on the ethical, social, and cultural issues of AI and how to apply ethical frameworks to problems created, aggravated or transformed by AI.
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence series
This MOOC is one of the MOOCs of the series titled “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence”, aimed at providing technical and non-technical, including historical and political, notions on artificial intelligence. The series investigates why artificial intelligence is nowadays considered the most disruptive enabling technologies up to at least 2050 and gives basic groundings for a preliminary approach to the area. It also deepens ethical issues and national strategies.
See the other MOOCs of the series.
If you are a POLIMI student you have to log in using your Person Code. This is the only way to prove your participation in this course for official recognition.
Course description
The Mooc deals with the problems created, aggravated or transformed by AI. It is intended to give students a chance to reflect on the ethical, social, and cultural impact of AI by focusing on the issues faced by and brought about by professionals in AI but also by citizens, institutions and societies. The MOOC addresses these topics by means of case studies and examples analyzed in the light of the main ethical frameworks.
Total workload of the course: 8 h
This MOOC is provided by Politecnico di Milano.
Information about fees and access to materials
You can access the course absolutely free of charge and completely online.
Course materials will remain available to all enrolled users after the end of the current edition, so they can return to content later. The current course edition will be followed by a new one just after its end.
Learning schedule
The course is organized in 4 weeks.
- Week 1: Ethics, AI and Responsibility
- Week 2: Case-studies, examples and ethical frameworks
- Week 3: Issues and challenges
- Week 4: Governance and policies
In particular, from Week 1 to Week 4 you will explore aspects of ethics related to Artificial Intelligence. In particular, Week 1 introduces the concepts of ethics, AI and moral responsibility, explaining why it is necessary to consider ethical issues in AI and the relationship between responsibility and AI; Week 2 and 3 explore different ethical frameworks, case-studies, examples, such as digital medicine, sustainability, cybersecurity, analyze privacy in relation to AI and the so called moralizing technologies and their issues. . Week 4 introduces some of the issues about governance of AI and presents some of the current policies for AI.
Intended Learning Outcomes
By actively participating in this MOOC, you will achieve different intended learning outcomes (ILOs).
- Week 1:
- Week 2:
- Identify the ethical and social impacts and implications of AI.
- Recognize and analyze ethical and social issues inherent in AI by means of examples and case-studies analyzed with the use of the main ethical frameworks.
- Week 3:
- Week 4:
Prerequisites
No prerequisite knowledge is required.
Activities
Over and above consulting the content, in the form of videos and other web-based resources, you will have the opportunity to discuss course topics and to share ideas with your peers in the Forum of this MOOC.
Assessment
To successfully complete this course, and henceforth receive the certificate of accomplishment, it is necessary to pass the quiz with 60%.
Certificate of Accomplishment
The Certificate of Accomplishment will be released to anyone who successfully completes the course by answering correctly to at least 60% of the questions by the end of the edition. You will be able to download the Certificate of Accomplishment directly on the website.
Once you have successfully passed the course, you can request the Certificate of Accomplishment without waiting for the end of the edition.
The Certificate of Accomplishment does not confer any academic credit, grade or degree.
European Qualifications Framework Level
EQF Level 7
Thematic area (ISCED-F classification)
022 Humanities (except languages)
- 0223 Philosophy and ethics
061 Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
- 0619 Information and Communication Technologies not elsewhere classified
Discussion forum
The forum of this MOOC is freely accessible and participation is not guided; you can use it to compare yourself with other participants, or to discuss course contents with them.
Contact details
If you have any enquiries about the course or if you need technical assistance please contact pok@polimi.it. For further information, see FAQ page.
Course Faculty
Viola Schiaffonati
Viola Schiaffonati is associate professor of Logic and Philosophy of Science at Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria. She holds a PhD in Philosophy of Science from Università di Genova. She has been visiting scholar at the Department of Philosophy of the University of California at Berkeley and visiting researcher at the Suppes Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Science and Technology of the Stanford University.Viola Schiaffonati is Director of the CINI National Laboratory on Informatics & Society (IeS) and Editor-in-Chief of Mondo Digitale, a magazine published by AICA (Italian Association of Computing). Her research interests are in the philosophy of AI and robotics, the epistemology and methodology of experiments in computer engineering and autonomous robotics, the ethical issues of intelligent and autonomous systems.
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