The ethics of artificial intelligence

Advances in artificial intelligence are poised to transform almost every aspect of modern society – ranging from how we work to how we create art, how we practice medicine to how we fight wars, and how we sentence criminals. This unit draws from moral and political philosophy to ask what role artificial intelligence should play across each of these domains. It examines the social and ethical implications of new and emerging digital technologies, and considers how policymakers, technology companies, and individuals ought to respond to the relevant ethical issues. Topics discussed may include: the ethics of AI in healthcare; moral decisions made by autonomous vehicles; the use of AI in criminal sentencing; the prospect of machine consciousness; and the regulation of dual-use AI technologies that have both beneficial and harmful applications.