"Issue: Integration of ethics inA/IS-related degree programsBackgroundA/IS engineers and design teams do not always thoroughly explore the ethical considerations implicit in their technical work and design choices. Moreover, the overall science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field struggles with the complexity of ethical considerations, which cannot be readily articulated and translated into the formal languages of mathematics and computer programming associated with algorithms and machine learning.Ethical issues can easily be rendered invisible or inappropriately reduced and simplified in the context of technical practice. For the dangers of this approach see for instance, Lipton and Steinhardt (2018), listed under “Further Resources”. This problem is further compounded by the fact that many STEM programs do not sufficiently integrate applied ethics throughout their curricula. When they do, often ethics is relegated to a stand-alone course or module that gives students little or no direct experience in ethical decision-making. Ethics education should be meaningful, applicable, and incorporate best practices from the broader field.The aim of these recommendations is to prepare students for the technical training and engineering development methods that incorporate ethics as essential so that ethics,and relevant principles, like human rights, become naturally a part of the design process.Recommendations- Ethics training needs to be a core subjectfor all those in the STEM field, beginning atthe earliest appropriate level and for all advanced degrees.- Effective STEM ethics curricula should be informed by experts outside the STEM community from a variety of cultural and educational backgrounds to ensure that students acquire sensitivity to a diversityof robust perspectives on ethics and design.- Such curricula should teach aspiring engineers, computer scientists, and statisticians about the relevance and impact of their decisions in designing A/IS technologies. Effective ethics education in STEM contexts and beyond should span primary, secondary, and postsecondary education, and include both universities and vocational training schools.- Relevant accreditation bodies should reinforce this integrated approach as outlined above.Further Resources- IEEE P7000TM Standards Project for a Model Process for Addressing Ethical Concerns During System Design. IEEE P7000 aims to enhance corporate IT innovation practices by providing processes for embedding a values- and virtue-based thinking, culture, and practice into them.- Z. Lipton and J. Steinhardt, Troubling Trends in Machine Learning Scholarship. ICML conference paper, July
1. - J. Holdren, and M. Smith. “Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence.” Washington, DC: Executive Office of the President, National Science and Technology Council,
1. - Comparing the UK, EU, and US approaches to AI and ethics: C. Cath, S. Wachter, B. Mittelstadt, et al., “Artificial Intelligence and the ‘Good Society’: The US, EU, and UK Approach.” Science and Engineering Ethics, vol. 24, pp. 505-528,
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