Computing, Ethics, and Society

Course Overview

Computing systems and technologies are impacting the lives of most people the world, and will do so even more in the future. These impacts include how we get information, how we socialize, how we receive critical services such as health care and transportation, and much more. Computing also impacts our society in fundamental ways including the impact of automation on the availability and types of employment, and how we organize and govern our society. This specialization examines some of the ethical issues in the design and implementation of current and future computing systems and technologies, and reflects upon the broad implication of computing on our society. It draws upon a wide variety of sources and experiences including recent events, media and research articles, and the experiences of computing professionals. It examines a wide range of computing applications in areas including algorithmic bias in artificial intelligence and machine learning, social media, security and privacy, health care, robotics and autonomous systems, gender and race in the computing workforce, and the future of work. Its overriding objective is to help learners identify and manage ethical situations that may arise in their careers and lives. This includes exposing learners to a wide range of examples of ethical issues in computing, and making them familiar with ethical frameworks that can be applied to help analyze ethical challenges.