The IET welcomes Cambridge University’s ethical AI degree announcement
The Institution of Engineering and Technology’s Digital and Education and Skills Panels jointly welcome Cambridge University’s announcement that it will launch a degree in AI Ethics and Society in the UK in October 2021.
Dr Graham Herries from the IET’s Education and Skills Panel, said: “Digital skills are needed in the UK to help rebuild the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic. These types of courses will ensure our future skills are developed with ethical considerations in mind, which is important for our overall future.
“The degree will help develop leaders who can tackle AI challenges, including: privacy, surveillance, justice, fairness, algorithmic bias, misinformation, microtargeting, Big Data, responsible innovation and data governance.
“With the growing use of AI throughout society, including in Alexa, Google Nest, autonomous vehicles and even smart kettles, we must consider ethical considerations and overall governance of the data we use today.
“AI has been a part of each of our lives for many years now, which sometimes strikes controversy when it allows fake news and conspiracies to become part of the mainstream. The hope is this course will start to combat this and create a generation of ethical AI thinkers, who will ensure AI is used properly. We hope to be able to use our future Tech Savvy report, which will look at people’s trust in digital technology, to help further insight into this field.”
For more information on the work of the IET’s policy panels, click here
