Administrative Information
| Title | Utilitarianism |
| Duration | 60 |
| Module | A |
| Lesson Type | Interactive Session |
| Focus | Ethical - Ethics Fundamentals |
| Topic | Utilitarianism |
Keywords
ethics,utilitarianism,consequence,
Learning Goals
- Learner can apply the knowledge about Utilitarianism, as gained in the lectures.
- Learner is able to explore and evaluate the moral dilemma's regarding a practical example, like autonomous vehicles, from this ethical perspective and can take a stand from different viewpoints (e.g., passenger, pedestrian, programmer).
Expected Preparation
Learning Events to be Completed Before
Obligatory for Students
None.
Optional for Students
- Panza, C., & Potthast, A. (2010). Ethics for dummies. John Wiley & Sons.
References and background for students
None.
Recommended for Teachers
- Steen, M., van Diggelen, J., Timan, T. et al. Meaningful human control of drones: exploring human–machine teaming, informed by four different ethical perspectives. AI Ethics (2022). [1]
Lesson materials
None.
Instructions for Teachers
This interactive session complements the lesson Lecture: Utilitarianism and should take place after this lecture.
An example case will be used for the discussions (see here for possible examples).
Topics to cover
- Introduction to session (5 min)
- Short overview about main concepts of Utilitarianism (10 min)'
- Short introduction to case (5 min)
- Groups prepare their view on application of utilitarianism for the case (20 min)
- Groups present their results (20 min)
During this interactive session, the following questions are asked:
- What are the possible actions?
- What are the possibilities of the consequences of my action?
- Which one of these consequences would lead to the greatest good?
- Do you think utilitarianism is a good framework for this case and why?
- What critique do you have on this view regarding this case?
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.