Handbook home
The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (COMP90087)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5Dual-Delivery (Parkville)
Please refer to the return to campus page for more information on these delivery modes and students who can enrol in each mode based on their location.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Semester 1
Timothy Miller
Overview
Availability | Semester 1 - Dual-Delivery |
---|---|
Fees | Look up fees |
This subject aims to provide students with the necessary tools to: identify social and ethical issues of digital technology particularly artificial intelligence and reason about these issues; communicate concerns, or discuss ideas, from differing points of view; and ultimately build technology with awareness of, and respect for, inclusion and the responsibility that comes with building powerful tools. Not contemplating ethical or social implications of AI and other technological tools may open up unintended consequences and risks. Ethical dilemmas can also cause additional personal stress for individuals who lack the skills to think about them reflectively. For these reasons, the growing societal and ethical problems raised by artificial intelligence and other technologies have become a major focus of many organisations, including for start-ups, government, defence, and many corporations.
Topics include:
- the history of artificial intelligence
- established ethical theories and concepts and their relation to artificial intelligence and technology
- fairness, equity, and discrimination in automated decision making
- accountability, explainability, and transparency of AI
- practical approaches and ethical frameworks for designing, developing and deploying technology responsibly
Intended learning outcomes
On completion of this subject, students should:
- Understand and describe the social and ethical issues raised by technology in various contexts
- Apply established ethical theories to reason about social and ethical issues related to technology
- Critically examine, analyse, and apply ethical perspectives to design, develop and deploy of digital technologies responsibly
- Communicate perspectives to other technical professionals and the community at large
- Demonstrate a profound respect for that fact that just because you can, does not mean you should create a technology
Generic skills
- Ability to analyse and interpretative complex information
- Ability to undertake problem identification, formulation, and solution
- High-level design skills, through proposing new uses of technology to support human activity
- Ability to communicate ideas in oral and verbal forms to different audiences
- Capacity for creativity and innovation ability to communicate effectively with both technical people and the community at large
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
One of:
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
COMP10001 | Foundations of Computing |
Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
Summer Term (Online)
|
12.5 |
COMP10002 | Foundations of Algorithms |
Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
COMP20003 | Algorithms and Data Structures | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
COMP20007 | Design of Algorithms | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
COMP90041 | Programming and Software Development |
Semester 1 (Online)
Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
COMP90059 | Introduction to Programming |
Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
Summer Term (Online)
Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
ENGR30004 | Numerical Algorithms in Engineering | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Or equivalence introductory programming and algorithms experience.
Or enrolment into the following degrees:
- MC-CS Master of Computer Science
- MC-SCICMP Master of Science (Computer Science)
- MC-DATASC Master of Data Science
- MC-ENG Master of Engineering - Software specialisation
- MC-ENG Master of Engineering - Software with Business specialisation
- MC-IT Master of Information Technology - 150 point program
- MC-IT Master of Information Technology - 100 point program
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
ISYS90051 | Impact of Digitisation |
Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
ISYS90095 | Emerging Technologies in Organisations | Term 3 (Online) |
12.5 |
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Tutorial participation and contributions to online discussion. Two hours per week. Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO's) 1 to 4 are addressed by tutorial participation and contributions to online discussion. | Throughout the teaching period | 20% |
Critical evaluation essay. ILO's 1 to 5 are addressed in the essay.
| Week 7 | 30% |
Research essay. Due first week of examination period. ILO's 1 to 5 are addressed in the essay.
| During the examination period | 30% |
Online quiz. ILO's 1 and 2 are addressed in the online quiz.
| End of semester | 20% |
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Dates & times
- Semester 1
Principal coordinator Timothy Miller Mode of delivery Dual-Delivery (Parkville) Contact hours 36 hours, comprising one 2-hour seminar and one 1-hour workshop per week Total time commitment 200 hours Teaching period 1 March 2021 to 30 May 2021 Last self-enrol date 12 March 2021 Census date 31 March 2021 Last date to withdraw without fail 7 May 2021 Assessment period ends 25 June 2021 Semester 1 contact information
Timothy Miller
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
There are no specifically prescribed or recommended texts for this subject.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Course Master of Data Science Course Master of Computer Science Course Master of Engineering Course Master of Information Technology Specialisation (formal) Computing Specialisation (formal) Cyber Security Specialisation (formal) Human-Computer Interaction Specialisation (formal) Mechatronics Specialisation (formal) Distributed Computing Specialisation (formal) Software Specialisation (formal) Software with Business Specialisation (formal) Spatial - Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 3 November 2022