- A Critical Stance
Jan 13, 2022. In this video I look at ethical practices from the perspective of ourselves, as opposed to regulations, frameworks or culture. In this the first two two videos addressing this subject (and the penultimate video of the course) I talk about where our ethical practices originate and how we should regard them.
Jan 05, 2022. We continue our look at agency, considering whether agency could be evolved, and through that the question of whether ethics could be thought of as the result of evolution. The cultural evolution thesis is rejected, but cultural practices promoting agency are described.
- Agency - Part One
Jan 05, 2022. In this video we look at the concept of agency, what we mean by it, and outline several conceptions with an eye to understanding the relation between ethics and agency in learning analytics. Part of the online course Ethics, Analytics and the Duty of Care 
Dec 24, 2021. We begin this discussion of democracy by considering the question of corporate citizenship and corporate social responsibility. We then turn to the question of what these were look like if organized democratically, considering topics such as participatory design. But what is needed to create such a society?
Dec 24, 2021. What does it mean to be a 'good' member of a culture? This is usually defined under the heading of 'citizenship'. We explore this concept in this video: what is a good citizen, how do we teach citizenship, how does that feed in turn into our concept of a culture?
Dec 24, 2021. How do we make the leap from ethical practices in theory to practices. What is culture, how does it relate to the common good, how do we teach culture, what are cultures of learning, organizational cultures, an how do these relate to ethics?
- Culture and Ethics
Dec 24, 2021. This short video introduces the discussion in the next three videos by considering how ethics and culture intersect, how change develops in cultures, and how design plays a role in ethics.
- Ethical Practices: Part Five
Dec 22, 2021. How do we make the leap from ethical practices in theory to practices. This video looks at four approaches as representative of the various ways the topic could be considered: incentivizing, translation, mobilization, and connective action.
- Ethical Practices: Part Four
Dec 22, 2021. This video looks at IT governance frameworks, with a number of specific examples, and discussion of the role ethics plays in those frameworks, and also at the role of human rights frameworks informing ethical practices.
- Ethical Practices: Part Three
Dec 22, 2021. This video looks at governance frameworks generally and data governance in detail, considering core elements of data governance and aspects relevant to ethical practices in analytics.
- Ethical Practices: Part Two
Dec 22, 2021. This video looks at basic management frameworks for ethics and offers some criticisms.
- Ethical Practices: Part One
Dec 22, 2021. Almost done. After today we have two topics remaining in the final module: Practices and Culture, and An Ethics of Harmony. This is definitely the last week this newsletter will publish. We introduce the motivation for emphasizing practices rather than regulation, then look at some basic models of ethical practices, and highlight some features of frameworks and process.
Dec 17, 2021. This is a brisk overview of the motivations for regulation of AI and analytics and some of the approaches globally to doing so. We then discuss a few issues related to regulation of AI.
- Ethical Practices in Learning Analytics
Dec 17, 2021. We introduce Module 8 by discussing what we have already done in the course and by setting the stage to walk down the staircase from regulation to an ethics of harmony.
- Using AI
Dec 16, 2021. This is the final video from Module 7 and considers how our use of AI has an impact on the ethics of AI and the development of ethical AI and analytics. Module 8, the last module, starts tomorrow. The course will be done before the holidays! We'll have our final course-ending online bash at 12:00 noon eastern time December 20 - everyone welcome, even if you've been a lurker throughout. Join us here.
- Explainable AI
Dec 15, 2021. Most discussions of ethics and analytics eventually turn to the idea that automated decisions should be explainable. In this video I outline the reasoning for this, some approaches to explainable AI, and what it means in a wider context.
- Evaluation and Impact
Dec 14, 2021. In this video I discuss the evaluation of AI and analytics, not from the perspective of whether it works, but from the perspective of assessing it's wider impact on society. I outline some aspects of evaluatuon and then reflect on some factors relevant to how we structure and conduct our assessment.
- Testing and Application
Dec 13, 2021. After the development and implementation of AI models, analytics solutions need to be tested and validated. This presentation discusses that process, along with the application of analytics applications in target domains.
Dec 10, 2021. We explore the idea that ethics is culturally determine, and trace the implications of that for individuals, for different societies around the world, and for an overall approach to ethics and AI.
- Models and Interpretations
Dec 09, 2021. In this video we look at some of the questions and issues around the use and interpretation of AI-generated models.
- Tools and Algorithms
Dec 08, 2021. Presentation description A broad overview of types of AI and machine learning algorithms, including learning theories, types of algorithm, and tools.
- Module 8 - Introduction
Dec 07, 2021. How do we grapple with the idea that there is no simple set of ethical principles we can appeal to to determine whether an act is right or wrong? If we asked an AI to do it, the result would depend not just on 20 or so factors, but a huge number (60,000, say). But that's probably what we also do as humans, and also what we do as a society. And it is society - thought of as both individuals and groups - that trains AI. So if we want more ethical AI, we need to be a more ethical society. We discuss.
- Working With Data
Dec 04, 2021. The fourth video in our short series on data, this video looks at merging and mixing data, addressing sources of bias in data, and issues related to data risks and ownership of data.
- Organizing Data
Dec 04, 2021. Data is useful only after it has been managed and organized. This presentations looks at the steps involved in data cleaning, labeling and classification.
- Classifying Data
Dec 04, 2021. What is there in the world? This is an important question if we're going to measure it. This presentation looks at the types of data used in AI and analytics.
Dec 04, 2021. We introduce the subject of data in analytics and AI and discuss options for sourcing data.
- Module 7 - Discussion
Dec 03, 2021. We consider what sort of factors are taken into an account by an AI when it performs an essay grading task or an image recognition task, relating these decisions to the accuracy of the result and the ethics of using the AI for these purposes.
- How AI Works
Dec 03, 2021. This is an overview of how neural networks work, told at the most basic level, without too much math, but with enough attention to the details to enable viewers to see what sorts of decisions are being made at the technical level.
- The Learning Context
Dec 02, 2021. The fist steps in an analytics and AI workflow are based on the context of application, and in the case of learning analytics, this means the learning context. In this presentation we look at considerations including stakeholders, objectives, theory and constraints.
- The Machine Is Us
Dec 01, 2021. Before we look at the AI and analytics workflow, we will take a few moments to address the question of whether our AI and analytics can be ethical at all.
- Moral Sentiment
Nov 30, 2021. This presentation considers the concept of a moral sense, as discussed for example by Adam Smith and David Hume, whereby through processes of experience and sympathy with others we develop a feeling for moral rightness and wrongness, which can be nurtured and taught.
- Module 7 - Introduction
Nov 29, 2021. In the first half, this video preview the upcoming module by looking at the workflow involved in machine learning, AI or analytics in learning, and previews the specific sorts of decisions that need to be made. This offers a more precise way of looking at guidance (such as 'eliminate bias in data') which may be well-meaning but also unhelpful. The second half consists of a discussion of some of the principles behind that discussion and talks about how they will combine to lead to the conclusions of the final module, and the course.
- Objections to Care Theory
Nov 29, 2021. This is a quick look at a number of objections expressed to care theory, and a brief outline of a reply to each.
- Module 6 - Discussion
Nov 28, 2021.
- Caring and Pedagogy
Nov 28, 2021. An important element of care ethics revolves around the question of how care is taught (here we assume it is not innate), and therefore, how an ethics of care informs a pedagogy of care. This presentation discusses these considerations and relates it, to a degree, with my own approach to teaching and learning.
- Caring Democracies
Nov 28, 2021. This presentation explores the inter-relatedness of society and how an ethic of caring is related to the idea of a caring society, and how that plays out in terms of concepts such as community, markets and social justice.
- Caring as a Virtue
Nov 27, 2021. At various points in the discussion of the ethics of care the idea of care as a virtue is expressed. We explore this connection of care and the nature of the carer.
- Care and Relationships
Nov 27, 2021. The practice of care is based on the creation of relationships between the care-giver and the cared-for. This presentation examines this idea within the context of an ethics of care.
- The Ethical Concept of Care Part Two
Nov 27, 2021. The basis for a theory of care in in the concrete reality of ethical encounters, and this often includes oppression and vulnerability, which must be taken into account. We trace how the historical role of women can be seen to inform this perspective.
- The Ethical Concept of Care Part One
Nov 27, 2021. We begin our discussion of the ethics of care by looking at what care means and how the concept of care emerged into the core of an ethical theory.
- Care as a Legal Concept
Nov 23, 2021. When we think of 'the duty of care' we often think of the legal requirement that governs professionals. This concept has its origin in a concept of being a good neighbour, has gone through a process of formalization, but is now in a way returning to its community-based roots.
- Introduction to the Duty of Care
Nov 22, 2021. Introduces the discussion of the 'duty of care' as a response to 'ethics of power' approaches based in machine, hierarchy and order. It approaches the concept from two directions: one being the requirement of 'care' in a professional sense, and the other being the sense or feeling of 'care' felt by mothers for their children. In both there is a sense of an increasing responsibility toward those who are dependent on us, but one that is based in a sensation or feeling rather than fundamental principle of morality.
- Module 6 - Introduction
Nov 22, 2021. Opening discussion for Module 6 - 'The Duty of Care' - in which we talked about various aspects of care, how we felt care may originate, and whether machines (or other non-humn entities) could be caring, or at the very least, promote care instead of inhibiting it.
- Module 5 - Part 2 - Discussion
Nov 19, 2021. In this discussion we consider some of the difficulties inherent in understanding and assigning value to different cultures and cultural practices, including identification of values, delineation between cultures, and how to regard principles - such as indigenous ways of knowing - that appear to be in error when perceived from another perspective.
- The End of Ethics
Nov 19, 2021. What are we trying to accomplish with ethics and when do we say we're done? Can we think of ethics as a branch of something else, or is it an enquiry that must remain unresolved? How, finally, can we address questions of what is good and bad, right and wrong?
Nov 18, 2021. What are the foundations of our moral theories? Where do ethical principles come from? How do we even know they're true? This presentation looks at the study of ethics from a meta perspective, asking about how we conduct ethical reasoning in general.
- Social Contracts
Nov 17, 2021. In this presentation we look at the history and present day idea that we create ethics by agreement through a social contract, beginning with the early theories of Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau, continuing through the present day to Rawls, and exploring various objections, communitarian theories, and the social ethic of Ubuntu.
- Module 5 Part 2 - Introduction
Nov 15, 2021. We started today's session with me confessing I still had three more videos to record for Module 5. They're too important to pass over lightly; I want to give this module the attention it deserves, as it's a pivot point for the whole course. So we agreed maybe to stay with Module 5 for another week - call it a break week, maybe. With that we also discussed the idea that 'preservation of life' might serve as a core ethical principle. However...
Nov 15, 2021. This presentation looks at the idea that the ethical value of our actions stems from the consequences of those actions, and includes discussion of hedonism, egoism, and utilitarianism.
- Module 5 - Discussion
Nov 12, 2021. In this discussion we looked at the graphing grid tool introduced during the week. After a short demonstration of how it works, we talked about what's involved in selecting the labels and identifying the relationship between them, returning to the broader question of bias in AI and how the use of language can influence the options we have.
Nov 11, 2021. In this presentation we talk about deontic ethics, that is, the ethics of duty, considering such things as moral intuitions, natural law theory, Kant's categorical imperative, and the implications of ethical duties in a modern context.
- Virtue and Character
Nov 09, 2021. This presentation introduces the first of a number of ethical traditions, this one on virtue and character. It outlines the concept of virtue, describes a number of approaches describing the various virtues, and discusses contemporary ideas related to virtue theory in ethics.
- Approaches to Ethics
Nov 08, 2021. This presentation introduces Module 5 and begins our investigation into the study of ethics generally. Alfter all, while analytics and AI are new, ethics has been studies for 3,000 years, and we have inherited a rich tradition of different schools of ethics, thoughts about ethical justifications, and metaethics.
- Module 5 - Introduction
Nov 08, 2021. This presentation ranges from a contrast between working class culture and academic culture, a consideration of the source of ethical knowledge, a discussion of how ethical principles apply, and ways of questioning even some of the most basic ethical principles.
- Bases for Values and Principles
Nov 08, 2021. What grounds these codes of ethics? On what basis do their authors assert that this code of ethics, as opposed to some hypothetical alternative, is the code of ethics to follow? A typical explanation might be that “An individual’s professional obligations are derived from the profession and its code, tradition, society's expectations, contracts, laws, and rules of ordinary morality” (Weil, 2008), but a closer examination raises as many questions as it answers.
- Module 4 - Discussion
Nov 05, 2021. We talk about the progress of the course, the challenge of mapping ethical issues to codes of conduct, and consider in detail some of the ethical values underlying codes of ethics, including especially accountability and repsonsibility.
- Duties and Obligations
Nov 05, 2021. To whom do we owe obligations and duties? In this presentation we look briefly at the different entities to which different codes argue that we owe allegiance, loyalty, or some other sort of obligation or duty.
Nov 04, 2021. We focus on the values and priorities that can be found in ethical codes of conduct . These are things that might be found in the ethical principles described by the code, if the code is structured that way, or the things that are explicitly described as good or desirable by the code. When people state that there is a ‘universal’ or ‘general’ agreement on values, it is usually with respect to a subset of the items listed here that they refer.
- Ethical Codes and Ethical Issues
Nov 04, 2021. In this section we examine the ethical issues being addressed by codes of conduct. Most often these are not stated explicitly, but must be inferred from the sorts of behaviours or outcomes being expressly discussed, in a sense, addressing the purpose of the code qua code of ethics, that is, it didn’t look at the social, political or economic need for codes of ethics, but rather, sought to identify the questions for which a ‘code of ethics’ is the answer.
- Social and Cultural Issues
Nov 02, 2021. This video takes a look at the wider social and cultural issues stemming from the use of learning analytics and artificial, intelligence, ranging from questions of power, influence and inclusiveness, the loss of our sense of right and wrong, our role in society, and the 'winner takes all' phenomenon.
- When It Is Fundamentally Dubious
Nov 02, 2021. This presentation looks at cases where the use of AI us fundamentally dubious. This includes cases where the consequences of misuse are very high, when there is the potential for feedback effects, cases where classification is used to infer agency, and cases where we don't know what the consequences may be.
- Module 4 - Introduction
Nov 01, 2021. Welcome to module 4, covering the topic of ethical codes. This introductory video talks about some of the general issues around ethical codes in analytics and AI, and about half way through the subject is introduced by means of a presentation with slides. We talk about the motivations for ethical codes, the roles they play, who writes them, who they apply to, and what they contain.
- Bad Actors
Nov 01, 2021. What happens when bad actors use analytics and AI? This video looks at number of examples and discusses some of the ethical implications for educational technologists, teachers and learning institutions.
- Module 3 - Discussion
Oct 29, 2021. This was our end-of-week discussion for Module 3, Ethical Issues in Analytics. We discussed the topic, the idea of teaching online, the process of course accreditation, and reviewed the two tasks for this week, including a visual demonstration of the graphing task.
- When Analytics Does Not Work
Oct 28, 2021. This presentation looks at some possible sources of error in analytics and AI applications and considers the ethical issues that result. Sources of error include distortion, bias and data issues, among others.
- When Analytics Works
Oct 27, 2021. In this presentation I focus on the ethical issues that arise when analytics and AI are working as designed and are being used as intended, considering such matters as surveillance and anonymity, content manipulation, microtargeting and discrimination.
- Deontic Analytics
Oct 26, 2021. This presentation describes a set of uses for AI and analytics that are generative in nature, that is, they create new artifacts and learning content.
- Generative Analytics
Oct 26, 2021. This presentation describes a set of uses for AI and analytics that are generative in nature, that is, they create new artifacts and learning content.
- Prescriptive Analytics
Oct 26, 2021. This presentation describes a set of uses for AI and analytics that are prescriptive in nature, that is, they make suggestions and recommendations.
- Module 3 - Ethical Issues in Learning Analytics: Introduction
Oct 25, 2021. In this video we introduce the topic of 'Ethics in Learning Analytics' and also discuss the tasks for Module 3 and how the graphing exercise fits into the theme of the course as a whole, giving us first-hand experience of the sorts of decisions an AI designer would need to make.
- Module 2 - Discussion
Oct 22, 2021. We discussed the methods used to look at applications (ie., the uses) of analytics in teaching and learning, surveyed the broad range of them, including especially those sorts of analytics that define what is 'right' or 'normal' in society, and consider how this look at applications will inform out longer-term discussion of ethics.
- Predictive Analytics
Oct 22, 2021. In this short video we look at how predictive analytics works and survey a number of uses of predictive analytics in teaching and learning technology, including learning design, user studies, identifying at-risk students, counselling and support, and student recruitment.
- Diagnostic Analytics
Oct 21, 2021. This presentation begins with a review of this week's task, then looks in detail at the various diagnostic applications of AI and analytics, reviewing the set with a brief description and some examples.
- Descriptive Analytics
Oct 20, 2021. This presentation surveys the set of descriptive analytics identified thus far in the course. It also shows how we're creating a database of relevant concepts, and how this database related to the task already assigned. We will be using a similar approach to mother topics in the course, with the result being a searchable graph of concepts and applications related to analytics in learning.
- Applications of Analytics
Oct 19, 2021. An overview surveying applications of analytics in learning. Part of Module 2 in Ethics, Analytics and the Duty of Care, this presentation surveys the application of AI and analytics in learning, first from the perspective of different functions performed by analytics, then from the perspective of six types of analytics task: descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, prescriptive, generative and deontic.
- Module 2 - Introduction
Oct 18, 2021. We look at some of the apllications of analytics and AI we use in everyday life, consider the role of both terms in the phrase 'artificial intelligence', and ponder whether one's point of view about the the role of AI changes if we've grown up with it. Oh, and robot dogs with weapons.
- Module 1 - Discussion
Oct 15, 2021. Discussion of some of the overall mechanics of the course, how we're going to look at the subject, the role gRSShopper plays in our understanding of the subject, and more. Very informal.
- Ethics and Analytics: What We Mean By Analytics
Oct 15, 2021. In this video we look at what we mean by analytics, including the different ways to classify analytics, arguments for taking a broad view of the subject, the relation between analytics and artificial intelligence, and a look at why analytics raises new classes of ethical issues.
- Ethics and Analytics: What We Mean By Ethics
Oct 14, 2021. What do we mean by ethics? We look at some ways of thinking about ethics: is it about right and wrong? Is it about maiing decisions? Is it about outcomes? We consider some things that ethics is not. And we look at a few possibilities for thinking about ethics today: perhaps as a framework, a politics, or a form of rationality.
- Ethics and Analytics: Getting a Feel For the Subject
Oct 14, 2021. Through a discussion of a number of examples that have cropped up in recent years we get a sense of the scope and nuance of the topic as a whole by considering what these cases have in common and what questions they force us to ask.
- The Joy of Ethics
Oct 13, 2021. This presentation expresses the overall argument of this course. Ethics is based on perception, not principle. It springs from that warm and rewarding sensation that follows when we have done something good in the world. It reflects our feelings of compassion, of justice, of goodness. It is something that comes from inside, not something that results from a good argument or a stern talking-to.
- Module 1 Introduction - The Search for the Social Algorithm
Oct 12, 2021. Acting as a forward for the course Ethics, Analytics and the Duty of Care, this presentation places us in the context of a chaotic and changing world transforming toward what might be called a mesh society. In this context, we see questions about thics in a new light, not merely as sets of rules to follow or authorities to listen to, but where there are no simple explanations and no simple ways to talk about right and wrong. A framework is proposed where we look at what we can do (or actually do), and we look what what we want, need or value, in order to outline an approach to understanding and defining ethical practices.
- How to Participate in a cMOOC
Oct 08, 2021. Our first live Zoom session, where we talk about the different ways to participate - the sorts of posts we create, activities like creating links and finding resources, and incentives like badges. We also cover the ways the MOOC is open, with different 'levels' of open.
- Activities, Tasks, Badges
Oct 07, 2021. More about how to participate in the course. We look at the course activity calendar, describe how to add it to your calendar, and show how to access Zoom sessions. We then look at tasks associated with each module and discuss what they'll look like, and then describe how badges will be assessed and awarded for these tasks.
- How to Follow the Course