This brick is concerned with
autonomous cars ethics. It is introduced
with a lecture (ppt & mp4).
2. Ethical Issues
Classification
The computing domain is Artificial
Intelligence, Human Computer
Interface, and Related Areas.
The interdisciplinary aspects
involve Artificial Intelligence,
Human-Computer Interactions, Social
Aspects, Sustainability
The application domain is
Transportation Systems.
3. Educational
Classification
The educational domain relates
Computing Ethics/Digital Ethics,
Artificial Intelligence, Human Computer
Interface, Interaction Design, Software
Engineering/Requirements Engineering and
related areas.
4. Domain Classification
The application domain is
Transportation Systems.
5. Interdisciplinary
Classification
The interdisciplinary aspects
involve Computing Ethics/Digital Ethics,
Artificial Intelligence, Human Computer
Interface, Interaction Design, Software
Engineering/Requirements Engineering,
Social Aspects, and Sustainable
Development.
6. Prerequisites
The prerequisite is foundational
knowledge of computing.
7. Learning Objectives
The computing learning objective is
to understand how requirements are
defined so that the autonomous vehicles
fulfill nonfunctional requirements of
ethics and social sustainability.
The ethical learning objectives are
to understand the role of technical
and social/individual ethical issues of
autonomous vehicles.
Social/individual requirements
include non-maleficence, stakeholder
involvement, beneficence, responsibility
and accountability, freedom and
autonomy, social sustainability, social
fairness, dignity and solidarity,
social trust, justice, legislation,
standards, norms, policies and guidelines.
The transverse learning objectives
are connecting knowledge and insights
from the technical and the social domain.
8. Possible Teaching and
Assessment
Approaches
Teaching Methods
Introductory lecture (ppt &
video) - the students are introduced to
published research on general digital
ethics and specifically to ethics of
autonomous vehicles (AVs)
After the lecture, possibly
preceded by individual literature studies,
students are involved in a discussion on
the way technical and ethical issues
have been addressed currently, especially
the problems with “Trolley problem”
type approaches. The discussion may
involve role play.
Lecture
The lecture is divided in modules
and teacher can choose the modules
topics to focus on.
Class
discussions in parallel sessions (small
classrooms/breakout rooms) opposing facts
vs opinions, legal vs ethical
aspects. The students are asked to use
what they have learned from reading and
the lecture.
The debate
concludes with the full class panel
discussion.
Assessment Methods
Exam Questions
Based on the lecture material, and
dependent on the form this brick is
used, either as a part of a course on
technical subject or of a course on
digital ethics/computing ethics,
open-ended questions can be formulated in
order to test students understanding of
the subject of autonomous cars ethics.
Research
Article
Depending on the time available,
part of the examination may be in the
form of a written essay. Based on the
literature, students choose a topic for a
research article, approved by the teacher.
It is necessary to have at least one
iteration/consultation with the teacher/TA
during the writing process. Articles
can aim to be published, for students to
further deepen their knowledge of the
field.
Mini Conference
Class presents their research
articles on a Mini conference that
resembles real life research conferences
with presentations, followed by
discussion.
9. Evaluation/Validation
Class presents their research
articles on a Mini conference that
resembles real life research conferences
with presentations, followed by
discussion. Did the brick meet the
learning objectives? The class fills in
evaluation form with both quantitative and
qualitative data. The idea is to
continuously improve lecture based on the
feedback of the class.
What Do We
Teach When We Teach Tech Ethics? A Syllabi
Analysis Proceedings of the 51st ACM
Technical Symposium on Computer Science
Education. 2020. https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3328778.3366825
Martin,
Diana Adela, Eddie Conlon, and Brian Bowe
(2019). The role of role-play in
student awareness of the social dimension
of the engineering profession.European
Journal
of Engineering Education 44.6: 882-905. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03043797.2019.1624691
12. Links to Other
Ethics4EU Bricks
This brick is linked to
foundational ethics bricks. As the brick
repository increases, the teacher can find
connections to further bricks.
