Posts relating to “ethics”, in the sense of guiding principles that we should follow, even though they are not legal requirements
A panel on Algorithms at the UK IGF asked whether the summer of 2020 was a catastrophe – “mutant algorithm” having entered political discourse – or an opportunity to work with a population that is now much more aware of the personal significance of the debate? “Transparency” is often cited as a remedy, but we […]
As part of Jisc’s exploration of Artificial Intelligence, we’ve created a free “mini-MOOC” (mini, because you should be able to complete it in 30 minutes, or longer if you do the additional reading). We’re planning to run it monthly, but you can sign up any time for the next run. The course, and the format […]
A couple of new documents provide ideas on how to think about ethics when we deploy Artificial Intelligence. First is an article by Linda Thornton for EDUCAUSE, on Artificial Intelligence and Ethical Accountability. This looks at who should be thinking ethically, finding responsibilities for programmers, managers, marketers, salespeople and organisations that implement AI. Since this […]
As data protection regulators keep reminding us, the research and data protection communities mean different things when they talk about “consent”. A couple of recent conversations have made me wonder whether that terminology clash may have another effect: are those putting research into practice missing out on existing guidance that could help with that transition? […]
There seems to be a widespread perception that “AI is creepy”. But at the same time as reacting strongly against an app that would check social media posts for signs that we were struggling to cope, we don’t think twice about the grammar checker that continually reads everything we type. I wondered why and if […]
I’ll be delivering the opening keynote, “See No… Hear No… Track No…: Ethics and the Intelligent Campus“, at the EUNIS 2020 (online) conference on Wednesday June 10th at 0815 (UK-time). Registration for the conference is free, and there are lots of other interesting talks on the programme.
An article, on “The value of e-proctoring as Exams move on-line”/”Technology can reduce exam stress”, was published in University Business (6/5/20) and the Jisc website (13/5/20).
[with thanks to a former university Head of Examinations for input and discussion] Recent years, and weeks, have seen a move away from the traditional examination context, where candidates gather in large halls to write on paper, to candidates being assessed using computers, in small groups or individual work spaces. In this change, the role […]
In looking at the many ethical concerns that have been expressed about the use of Artificial Intelligence in education, it struck me that most fall at the two ends of a scale. On the one hand questions of human autonomy lead to concerns about cookie-cutter approaches, where AI treats every student according to a rigid […]
The EU High-Level Expert Group’s (HLEG) Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI contain four principles and, derived from them, seven requirements for AI systems. The Guidelines do not discuss the need for AI to be lawful, but the expansion of Data Protection law beyond just privacy into areas formerly considered part of Ethics means that much […]