MSt in AI Ethics and Society

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is rapidly developing and is increasingly being applied across sectors, posing significant ethical and societal challenges. There is therefore a national and global need to adequately equip future leaders and decision-makers to address these challenges. The Masters of Studies in AI Ethics and Society addresses this need. The MSt is an academically rigorous part-time programme aimed at professionals from business, public, and social sectors working with AI. The programme will provide students with the critical skills, knowledge and analytical abilities needed to identify and address ethical challenges as they arise in practice from the application of AI. The MSt will engage with the ethical and societal challenges of AI and is thoroughly informed by the knowledge, theories and methods of established academic disciplines from philosophy to computer science.

The MSt AI Ethics and Society is developed and taught by the University’s Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (LCFI), a global research centre at the forefront of AI Ethics and impact research, in partnership with the Institute of Continuing Education. Because the programme is run by a specialist research centre, rather than by a department, the curriculum is uniquely multidisciplinary, informed by up-to-the-minute research developments, and incorporates experts from diverse areas, including philosophy, machine learning, computer science, policy, law, and more.

Education Aims

The programme aims to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to address the ethical and societal challenges arising from the use of Artificial Intelligence. It provides a professionally relevant teaching and learning environment informed by the forefront of academic research on AI and its ethical and societal impacts.

The programme will:

? Ensure that engagement with the ethical and societal challenges of AI is thoroughly informed by the knowledge, theories and methods of relevant established academic disciplines

? Provide a critical overview of the state of current interdisciplinary research on the challenges of AI

? Develop the critical research skills and analytical abilities needed to identify and address ethical challenges as they arise in practice from applications of AI

? Instil thorough knowledge of the role that different governance approaches can play in navigating the challenges of AI, and the ability to critically analyse those approaches

? Develop experts in the ethical and societal implications of AI with the ability and initiative to identify and address the challenges of AI across sectors and society

? Create a network for such experts to collaborate and continue learning as leaders in the field of AI ethics and governance

Applicants are normally expected to a hold a 2i degree or higher from a UK university or an equivalent from an overseas university in a relevant subject.