Administrative Information
| Title | Ethical frameworks |
| Duration | 60 |
| Module | A |
| Lesson Type | Interactive Session |
| Focus | Ethical - Ethics Fundamentals |
| Topic | Ethical frameworks |
Keywords
ethical frameworks,duty ethics,virtue ethics,theory of justice,utilitarianism,moral machine,
Learning Goals
- Learner can apply the knowledge about Duty Ethics, Virtue Ethics, Theory of Justice and Utilitarianism, in a debate.
- Learner is able to explore and evaluate the moral dilemma's regarding a practical example, like autonomous vehicles, from different ethical perspectives and can take a stand from different viewpoints (e.g., passenger, pedestrian, programmer).
Expected Preparation
Learning Events to be Completed Before
Obligatory for Students
- Students have had lectures on four ethical frameworks (Duty ethics, Utilitarianism, Virtue ethics, Theory of Justice) and now apply their knowledge by preparing a presentation in which they will reflect on different aspects of building, programming and using autonomous cars.
Optional for Students
None.
References and background for students
- Awad, E., Dsouza, S., Kim, R., Schulz, J., Henrich, J., Shariff, A., ... & Rahwan, I. (2018). The moral machine experiment. Nature, 563(7729), 59-64. [1]
- Panza, C., & Potthast, A. (2010). Ethics for dummies. John Wiley & Sons.
Recommended for Teachers
None.
Lesson materials
None.
Instructions for Teachers
The class is beforehand divided into four groups. Each group is assigned one of the ethical frameworks. As preparation, they prepare a short presentation on the following questions regarding the use case of autonomous vehicles from the perspective of the assigned ethical framework.
- On what basis should the autonomous cars decide on actions?
- What is the responsibility of the designer and the driver?
- What aspects should be taken account, and what should be optimized?
- How can this be implemented in a car; what are consequences for the technology that is used?
- Please give examples for the questions above.
After each group has presented, the students will debate the following questions:
- Who is responsible in case of accidents? The designer? The driver?
- What role do different cultural aspect play? How could you design something that is globally accepted?
- Which rules/laws should be made regarding autonomous vehicles?
- Should drivers be aware of the underlying choices that are made in the implementation of the car, and how could this be possible?
Topics to cover
- Short introduction to session (5 min)
- Presentation by student groups (20 min)
- Discussion (30 min)
- Concluding remarks by lecturer (5 min)
Acknowledgements
The Human-Centered AI Masters programme was Co-Financed by the Connecting Europe Facility of the European Union Under Grant №CEF-TC-2020-1 Digital Skills 2020-EU-IA-0068.