PHIL036 PO - Data Science Ethics

When Offered: Spring 2025.
Instructor(s): J. McHose
Credit: 1

Data science is rapidly becoming more powerful, and it is being used for a broad range of private and public purposes. For example, companies use it to manipulate the behavior of their customers, and governments use it in choosing policing policies. This course examines ethical issues that arise in the conduct and use of data science. For example, suppose that an algorithm designed for use in the criminal justice system is unintentionally biased against the members of a certain race. Does the moral responsibility for this fall on the designer, the designer’s employer, and/or the government agencies using the algorithm?

Satisfies the following General Education Requirement(s), subject to conditions explained in the Degree Requirements section of this Catalog:
Area 3