This timely, topical course examines key ethical questions of the Information Age. These issues pervade numerous, diverse aspects of the economy and society, from human rights to international trade. You will learn about these topics, beginning first with acquaintance with the dominant ethical frameworks of the 20th and 21st centuries. You will then employ these frameworks to understand, analyze, and develop solutions for leading problems in the Information Age and their policy, economic, social, legal, and technological implications. Subjects include artificial intelligence (AI), big data, privacy, mis/disinformation, human rights, hate speech, liberty, autonomy, international and global concerns, and emerging issues.
At the end of this course, you will be able to:
• Define protection of personal data and privacy, AI, big data, bias, misinformation, disinformation, hate speech, and objectionable content
• Present materials on these topics to a variety of audiences through different formats, such as: audiovisual presentations and media posts, op-eds, and columns for publications
• Interview an expert about privacy; AI, big data, bias, and accountability; or mis/disinformation, hate speech, and objectionable content
• Investigate, compare, and contrast corporations’ personal data collection and use practices
• Compare and contrast activities in these domains around the world
The things that you learn in this course will stay with you and inform your personal and professional lives.
None. You are already profoundly affected by the issues raised in this course and have knowledge and experience with them. This course will bring that background up to the surface, illuminate it and bring rigor to thinking about it, add to it significantly, and provide accessible toolkits for analyzing these problems and developing solutions.
Online sections of Pre-College courses are offered in one of the following modalities: Asynchronous, Mostly asynchronous, or Blended. Please review full information regarding the experience here.