As artificial intelligence becomes an increasingly powerful force in students’ daily lives, University of Oxford’s new Institute for Ethics in AI is asking the big questions about where it’s all headed.
Bringing together leading philosophers, humanities scholars, and STEM researchers alongside experts in tech, business, government, and civil society, the institute offers independent perspectives on AI ethics—and aims to shape innovation and public debate across a wide range of areas, including what it means to be human in an age of intelligent machines and how humans and AI can share our human world. The institute provides a window into some of the most rigorous thinking happening on these issues today.
Many of the institute’s lectures and events, which feature leading AI researchers from around the world, are offered virtually. While the institute’s work isn’t focused specifically on K–12 classrooms, educators thinking critically about students’ digital lives will encounter plenty of relevant information for discussion.
Every day brings more examples of the ethical challenges posed by AI, from face recognition to voter profiling, from brain-machine interfaces to weaponized drones and the future of employment. Philosophers made a major contribution to the development of medical ethics 40 years ago. The institute aims to make a similar contribution to the development of AI ethics now.