ME102: The Ethics of Data and Artificial Intelligence

We are in the midst of an AI revolution. AI is now embedded in our day-to-day lives, influencing the videos and text we see online, elections and social movements, what we buy, and how we work.

Ethics has often been the last step in the design and deployment of AI technologies. However, new and pending regulations, activism by civil society and self-governance efforts by companies have sought to integrate values like fairness, safety, and privacy into AI systems from the start. How successful have those attempts been? And how can we do better?

In this course, you will be introduced to the core ethics concepts needed to build better technology and analyse its impact on the economy, politics, and our social lives. In the first half of the course, you will consider ethical questions raised by the technology itself. Questions include:

• Can there be intelligent artificial systems? How will we know when we’ve succeeded?
• What is privacy, and should new technologies like genAI respect privacy or intellectual property rights?
• Can AI discriminate? If so, what are promising strategies for promoting fairness and mitigating algorithmic bias?
• Can we understand black-box AI systems? Why is it morally important that we do so?

In the second half of the class, we consider ethical questions raised by the use of AI in education, art, social media, politics and the economy. Questions include:

• How central is consent to privacy? Should we hold companies to a higher, or a different, standard?
• Can AI systems create art? Who should reap the rewards of AI-generated art? And do we need new artistic standards to judge it?
• Will AI enhance, or undermine, human wellbeing?
• How should AI change how we work, and how income and wealth are distributed?

Students who receive an offer for this course are also eligible to apply for the Academic Director's Scholarship.

Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course. No prior study in philosophy or computer science is assumed, and students from all disciplines - from law to engineering to business - are welcome.

Level: 100 level. Read more information on levels in our FAQs

Fees: Please see Fees and payments

Lectures: 36 hours

Classes: 18 hours

Assessment: A mid-session essay (50%) and a final exam (50%)

Typical credit: 3-4 credits (US) 7.5 ECTS points (EU)

Please note: Assessment is optional but may be required for credit by your home institution. Your home institution will be able to advise how you can meet their credit requirements. For more information on exams and credit, read Teaching and assessment

This course is ideal if you’re seeking a practical understanding of the ethical challenges and potential solutions posed by real-world AI systems.

This course is especially beneficial to those targeting a career in data science or computational social science, product management, managerial positions, AI policy, information technology law, or an academic career in a field related to the ethics of AI.

• Understand core ethics concepts and how those concepts apply to AI systems
• Analyse the ethical issues raised by a particular technology by applying core ethical reasoning techniques to real-world case
• Show how to apply cutting-edge ethics research within the development process to build more ethical AI systems
• Communicate your own ethical viewpoint clearly and persuasively by reconstructing others’ arguments, objecting to them, and providing your own solution

The design of this course is guided by LSE faculty, as well as industry experts, who will share their experience and in-depth knowledge with you throughout the course.