Assessment criteria: Non-attending students
Requirements for being admitted to the exam
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No minimal attendance is required for being admitted to the exam.
- Students must write 1 page reflections and comments (not a summary) for each of the information technology papers assigned as part of the exam’s subject matter (Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the course bibliography). This material must be submitted via web site or email at least one week before the exam date. This material will not be graded for the final mark but used as filter for admission to the exam. Admission will be communicated via email at least two days before the exam.
- Students are expected to be able to discuss and defend their reflections in the oral exam. This will be assessed during the oral exam.
Subject of exam
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Applied ethics and information technology ethics.
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Students will be required to familiarize themselves with the basic tenets of applied ethics, and the common dilemmas and approaches to information technology ethics, which is a subfield of applied ethics.
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Materials for general applied ethics - see Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the "Bibliography/Study materials" Section for the required textbooks.
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Materials for information technology ethics - see Part 1-3 of the "Bibliography/Study materials" Section for the required papers and readings.
Written exam
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The written exam is a closed-book exam. No material (online or offline) can be used during the written exam. The exam consists of 2-3 pages handwritten response to two questions. The questions will require students to respond to a recent ethical issue in technology. The questions assume students has knowledge of all the material listed in the "Bibliography/Study materials" Section.
Oral exam
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The oral exam will cover all materials. It will probe knowledge of general applied ethics and of information technology ethics. The written work done by the student will also be reviewed. The oral discussion assumes that students has knowledge of all the material listed in the "Bibliography/Study materials" Section.
Grading
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The final grade will be a weighted average of the Written exam (50%) and of the Oral exam (50%). Both the Written exam and the Oral exam are required.
Bibliography/Study materials
Part 1. Principles commonly employed in today’s Computer Science, Engineering, and AI ethics
- European Commission: Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI
- European Commission: Assessment List on Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence
- German Data Ethics Commission: Opinion of the Data Ethics Commission
- GAO (US): Artificial Intelligence: An Accountability Framework for Federal Agencies and Other Entities
- Whittlestone et al: The Role and Limits of Principles in AI Ethics - Towards a Focus on Tensions
Part 2. The underlying theory of applied ethics
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Brusseau, Ethics Workshop, selections provided by instructor
Part 3. Ethical values and video lectures
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Significant understanding of the video lectures and independent ability to apply the learned ethical principles to contemporary technology. The specific video material will be made available during the course.
Part 4. Textbooks for non-attending students.
- The elements of moral philosophy, James Rachels, McGraw-Hill, 2003
- Ethics for A-Level, Mark Dimmock, Andrew Fisher, Cambridge, 2018 (Part I, all chapters, and Part III, Chapter 13)