I completed my visiting professorship at University of Applied Sciences, South Westphalia, in Soest, Germany, at the end of June. The project was to develop and teach the first Understanding Artificial Intelligence course at the University, and my responsibility was to develop and teach the final module on Ethical Decision Making.

 

The Ethical Decision-Making module objectives were to:

1. Introduce students to the practical application of Western ethical theory in decision making,

2. Inform students about the erratic influence of noise (random variability) on decision making,

3. Inform students about the irrational influences of biases on decision making,

4. Instruct students how to use a systematic judgment protocol for case analysis, and

5. Task students with completing a written case analysis using the systematic judgment protocol.

 

The Ethical Decision Making module presented three lectures (recorded links below), instruction on the use of a decision-making protocol for completing case analyses, and three AI-related ethics cases.

 

Recorded Lectures

• Thinking Ethically – Western Ethical Thought: A Practical Guide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0z3MV_qdrs&list=FLE4PfoVKE569qXW9c4SJs_g

 

• Noise and Bias, Part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfTNnlfw74g&t=1s

 

• Noise and Bias, Part 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9PdeALx-YA&t=894s

 

Systematic Judgment Protocol

 

Cases

1. The “Goodbye Fears Monster” (modified)

2. “Val,” the Elderly Care Robot

3. Machine Learning Graduate Admissions