Responsible Computer Science in Practice

Catalog description

What can ethics and social and political theory tell us about how to navigate the social impacts of computing? How do these perspectives shape technical decisions computer scientists have to make? The role of computer scientists is rapidly evolving: as the systems they build affect everyone, from individuals to society at large, computer scientists become more than just coders. They must be able to assess the social impacts of the technology they develop and engage with experts from other disciplines which offer critical insights and normative perspectives on those impacts. The goal of this course is to enable you to understand and critically reflect on key concepts and ideas in ethics and social and political theory on topics ranging from fairness to consent, digital well-being to regulation, and to apply them to concrete technical decisions in practical exercises and project-oriented work.