| Unit name | Artificial Intelligence in Society |
|---|---|
| Unit code | SEMT10003 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Leivas Oliveira |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology |
| Faculty | Faculty of Engineering |
Why is this unit important?
AI is becoming increasingly part of how we live, offering conveniences, efficiencies, and benefits to our economy and our health and wellbeing. But what are the potential harms of societies' increased use and reliance on AI; can AI be used to manipulate how people act and what they believe, can it enact large-scale surveillance and impose on individual liberty? Does it damage the environmental or can it be sustainable? Importantly, can we mitigate these risks?
This unit explores issues such as what happens when technology fails, political and economic impacts of AI, how we can design systems considering the complex societal systems they will be used within, and the ethical and legal frameworks governing AI. For example, the capability of machine learning to make fair decisions can be severely limited by biases in the data on which they are trained.
The unit will draw on the experience of a variety of stakeholders from different sectors and students will have the opportunity to engage with industrial mentors to discuss applying AI where regulatory and ethical issues are paramount.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
This unit complements the technical and philosophical content in other AI units in your programme, but does not depend on them. The unit will encourage students to consider algorithms and applications they have learnt and consider the impact of these when deployed within society.
An overview of content
Topics covered in this unit will include:
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
Throughout this unit, students will develop their skills in examining the impacts that AI can have on society, considering the potential benefits, the potential harms and how to design systems with complexities societal systems in mind. They will explore different ethical philosophies and consider how they relate to AI challenges associated with agency, responsibility, trust, transparency and the right to an explanation. Students will be equipped to consider the legal and ethical frameworks that govern the use of AI within society, as well as the strengths and limitations of these frameworks. They will have seen examples of how AI is applied to real-world problems and how ethical and legal concerns have been address in context. In this way and through discussions with industrial mentors they will have begun to think critically about how AI can be applied in practice and design challenges needed to ensure that it meets societal needs in a way that is legal, fair and safe.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Teaching will be delivered through a combination of lectures, student-focused discussion workshops (lectorials), guest lectures and tutorials from stakeholders and meeting with industrial mentors.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Workshop discussions on example AI applications
Online Quizzes
Meetings with industrial mentors
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
The unit will be assessed by two coursework each worth 50%:
When assessment does not go to plan:
Re-assessment takes the same form as the original summative assessment. If you pass one of the summative assessments, then your mark for this can be carried forward towards your final mark and you will only have to be reassessed on the assessment that you did not pass.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. SEMT10003).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
