PROGRAMA DE CURSO

Información General:

Programa

Nombre de la materia Ethics and Regulation of Artificial Intelligence in Latin America

Créditos Horario de Clase

Horas presenciales Horas de trabajo autónomo

Docente Glenda Ecker

Correo Electrónico glenda.ecker@uexternado.edu.co

Presentación:

Recent developments in emerging technologies, and particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), place us on the
threshold of a new turning point in the history of humanity. We are likely to soon entrust the management of our
environment, economy, security, infrastructure, food production, healthcare and, to a large extent, even our
personal affairs, to artificially intelligent computer systems. How can we ensure that these systems respect our
ethical principles when making decisions at speeds and for reasons that are beyond our understanding? Will the
benefits of this technological revolution be widely distributed? Does AI replicate a social construction?
Furthermore, we will search the equilibrium between regulation and innovation. That is the real legal problem of
AI: how to regulate something that keeps changing. We will study the consequences of dissemination of
information, along with questions related to human rights, discrimination, and architectures of control.
On the other side, what are the social impacts of AI in Latin America? We will analyze the risks and opportunities
of intelligent machines in areas that have high implications for the productive and global insertion of Latin
America. Predictive integration, the study of the exponential commerce, governance of neural networks and
challenges of education, gender, health and income distribution will be the main topics that will help us to initiate
the debate of the consequences in ethics and legal aspects of AI in our region.
The course will be divided into two sections. The first part will be devoted to study the different edges of AI ethics
and regulation from a global perspective, and the second part will focus on the Latin American point of view.

Competencias:

According to the guidelines of the Finance, Government and International Relations Faculty, the competencies to
be developed in this course will be the following:

Cognitive: recognize the main concepts related to AI and Ethics and Regulation in Latin America
Communicative: coherently define some specific issues from the field of AI and Ethics in the regional and
international context.
Contextual: propose within the frame of AI and Ethics possible solutions to some basic problems that could
improve the conditions of our regional society.
Investigative: analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and apply arguments and evidence to transform and create new
knowledge on the field.

Resultados de aprendizaje:
At the end of the course the student should have acquire adequate knowledge and skills in the subject to:
a. Understand different theories of Ethics.
b. Identify the main concerns about Ethics at the AI field.
c. Critically recognize the current regulation issue at the AI field.

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d. Integrate and visualize the differences and similarities of the AI and Ethics field at the international and regional
context.
e. Identify the potential benefits or risks of the implementation of an international legal system of Ethics and AI.

Temáticas o contenidos:
SESSION 1
(ZOOM)
Presentation of the class, the students, and the teacher.
Introduction to AI and Ethics (Part 1)

SESSION 2
(ZOOM and AVA)
Introduction to AI and Ethics (Part 2)

Planet Alegoritm (2018) InterAmerican Development Bank

https://publications.iadb.org/en/integration-and-trade-journal-volume-22-no-44-july-2018-planet-algorithm-
artificial-intelligence

Rafael Reif (president of MIT, 2018). Every technological project has an ethical dimension to it. P. 308

Google Cloud Platform, What is machine learning? (AI Adventures), 2017

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcqpanDadyQ&t=57s

Can AI be ethical?
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/insights/us/articles/4604_S4S-AI-and-ethics/DI_S4S-AI-and-ethics.pdf

What is AI ethics?
https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/signals-for-strategists/ethical-artificial-intelligence.html

SESSION 3
(ZOOM and AVA)
Introduction to AI and Ethics (Part 3)

SESSION 4
(ZOOM and AVA)
The AI Regulation Problem (Part 1)
Legal issues surrounding AI seem likely to crop up in the near future. Who (or what) will be held liable when an
autonomous vehicle causes an accident? To what degree can physicians delegate the task of diagnosing medical
conditions to intelligent scanning systems without exposing themselves to increased liability for malpractice if the
system makes an error? Such questions regarding AI-caused harm will arise with ever-increasing frequency as
“smart” technologies fan out into an ever-expanding range of industries.

Readings:
TEDx Cambridge. What moral decisions should driveless cars make? Iyad Rawhan
https://www.ted.com/talks/iyad_rahwan_what_moral_decisions_should_driverless_cars_make

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Moral Machine.

http://moralmachine.mit.edu/

SESSION 5
(AVA)
Democratic elections and the influence of algorithms on social media platforms.
Assignment: Create and answer 5 questions concerning the topic of our class “Ethics, regulation an AI” of the
Waldo Moment (Black Mirror, Netflix series)

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Readings:
The Waldo Moment. (Black Mirror) Netflix

Forbes. Cambridge Analytica: The Turning Point In The Crisis About Big Data
https://www.forbes.com/sites/courtstroud/2018/04/30/cambridge-analytica-the-turning-point-in-the-crisis-
about-big-data/#2790d4ea48ec

The Guardian. Twitter admits far more Russian bots posted on election than it had disclosed
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jan/19/twitter-admits-far-more-russian-bots-posted-on-election-
than-it-had-disclosed

SESSION 6:
(ZOOM AND AVA)
The AI Regulation Problem (Part 2) The Impact of AI on Human Rights
We will address the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) on human rights in the next three decades.

Readings:
University of Cambridge. Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. The Future Impact of Artificial
Intelligence on Humans and Human Rights.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ethics-and-international-affairs/article/future-impact-of-artificial-
intelligence-on-humans-and-human-rights/2016EDC9A61F68615EBF9AFA8DE91BF8

SESSION 7:
(ZOOM and AVA)
The AI Regulation Problem (Part 3) The Impact of AI on Gender and Labour
This lesson will emphasis on the social and ethical impressions of emerging technologies, including robots, as they
replace, displace or conceal certain type of labour. We will address the place of human workers within different
industries.

Readings:
Oxford. The future of employment
https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/academic/future-of-employment.pdf

Workshop. Will robots take my job?

https://willrobotstakemyjob.com/

SESSION 8: Presentations!
(ZOOM)
Presentation of the Group Essay: maximum of two pages. Select a human right and describe different scenarios
(where this right could be totally enjoyable or violated) with the interaction of AI.

SESSION 9:
(ZOOM and AVA)
An Introduction to ethics and regulation of AI in Latin America
The five r/evolutions in AI in Latin America
Ten key points of AI in Latin America
What are the Latin American countries doing in terms of regulation on AI?

Readings:
Planet Alegoritm (2018) InterAmerican Development Bank
https://publications.iadb.org/en/integration-and-trade-journal-volume-22-no-44-july-2018-planet-algorithm-
artificial-intelligence

SESSION 10:

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(ZOOM and AVA)
Does AI replicate a social construction? Gender and AI
Gender equality is fundamental to delivering on the promises of sustainability, peace and human progress but if
we consider the “relativism way” of how to asses technology and women we could argue that the structures of
power are already implied and that it would be hard enough to close the digital skills gender than in most parts of
the world are wide and growing.

Readings:
UNESCO (2019), I would rather blush: closing gender divides in digital skills through education.
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000367416

SESSION 11:

SESSION 12:
(ZOOM and AVA)
Predictive integration
How AI could be a key tool in trade negotiations and accelerate the digital transformation of Latin American
economies. The role of knowledge-based services and model prediction in the new data macroeconomics.

Exponential commerce
In retail, the automotive industry, the primary sector, finance and logistics, AI is revolutionizing the way we connect
customers and suppliers. How to take a leap in productivity in the new digital age? What are the consequences?

Readings:
Planet Alegoritm (2018) InterAmerican Development Bank
https://publications.iadb.org/en/integration-and-trade-journal-volume-22-no-44-july-2018-planet-algorithm-
artificial-intelligence

SESSION 13:
(AVA)
Governance of neuronal networks
New technologies pose unprecedented challenges for global governance, ethical risks require basic agreements.
At the same time, they offer opportunities to increase the efficiency of the public sector and provide better
services.

Digital Dividends
Automation appears as a threat to employment. What will be the jobs of the future in our region and how to
prepare the youngest for the job market of tomorrow. The challenges of education, health and income distribution.

Readings:
Planet Alegoritm (2018) InterAmerican Development Bank
https://publications.iadb.org/en/integration-and-trade-journal-volume-22-no-44-july-2018-planet-algorithm-
artificial-intelligence

SESSION 14:
(ZOOM)
Innovation and Artificial Intelligence in Latin America

Special Lecture of Dra. Patricia Shuk.

SESSION 15: Presentations!

(ZOOM and AVA)
Final Group Presentations. Research on an existing social or political issue in Latin America and propose a
solution using AI considering ethical and legal implications.

SESSION 16:

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(ZOOM)
Towards a regulation of AI
We are going to discuss in class a possible way of regulating AI (Latin America) including ethical and legal aspects
that we learn in the course.

Metodología:
Throughout the 16 weeks of the course the questions raised on the presentation will be discussed in class. To
achieve this goal, each lesson will present a particular topic and will propose different texts and / or videos that
address them. Students must have read these documents and participate.
In the AVA CLASSROOM you will find the chapters and readings of each of the synchronous classes as well as the
workshops and exercises that the students must develop in their asynchronous sessions.
For the reading and development of each topic of the program, in the AVA CLASSROOM the student will find in
each session their respective topic, bibliography and activities to be developed and as a complement to the topic
that is being discussed.

Evaluación:
Participation: 20% of the grade.
Reading comprehension: 20% of the grade
Group essay: 30% of the grade*
Group final oral presentation: 30% of the grade**
* Select a human right and describe different scenarios (where this right could be totally enjoyable or violated)
with the interaction of AI.
** Research on an existing social or political issue in Latin America and propose a solution using AI considering
ethical and legal implications.

Referencias bibliogtáficas:

The references are included in every session.