New Fall AI Ethics Course

UCO will provide a course in AI Ethics in the Fall Semester to educate students about the creation, application, and ethical fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence.

Dr. Vanessa Bentley, an associate professor in the Department of Humanities and Philosophy, will teach the course through the perspective of critical thinking and open discussion. Bentley said the course was a natural fit for her since it would involve contemporary moral problems, ethics and navigating moral values.

“There were some conversations in the department about the need for it,” Bentley said.

“AI should be discussed in philosophy courses, specifically, because of how ethics plays a part in how it’s used.”

Bentley said that the course will go over both the output of AI systems and how the technology was created and trained. Some examples she provides are how copyright material was used without consent and the environmental impact that AI use has.

“Many artists would not consent to their work being used, but the AI models just use whatever is available, which happens to be the entirety of the internet,” said Bentley.

According to Bentley, these AI systems are trained with internet data scraped from accessible sites, including websites with explicit content. In the course, she will discuss how workers were tasked with reviewing disturbing material to help train AI systems to filter out harmful responses.

Bentley says that the current state of AI is still in an “early phase” of technology, and the public has adopted it quickly and without caution. She addresses this concern as she mentions that larger companies want to promote AI use to benefit financially.

While Bentley mentions that AI use affects education and critical thinking, she discusses further, saying that AI eliminates a variety in ideas.

“Instead of looking at multiple sources, answers are just a click or two away,” said Bentley.

“These organizations can manipulate these models to only present information that supports their biases.”

The class will introduce students to ethical frameworks such as utilitarianism, deontological ethics, and care ethics. Students will then apply those models to ethical dilemmas involving AI use and development.

While Bentley says that AI ethics is an ongoing conversation, she hopes the course can help students think critically about how developing technologies are continuing to shape society.