EXAMINATION OFFICE

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RESEARCH ESSAY
Tasks for Course: DLMAISAIS01 – Seminar: AI and Society

CONTENT
1. Tasks ......................................................................................................................................... 2
1.1 Task 1: Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Society .................................................................................... 2
1.2 Task 2: Bias in Artificial Intelligence ........................................................................................................... 3
1.3 Task 3: AI, automation and the future of work .......................................................................................... 3
2. Additional information for the evaluation of the Research Essay..................................................... 4
3. Tutorial Support ......................................................................................................................... 4

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1. TASKS
There are different subject areas to choose from. Please choose one of the subject areas first. For the concrete
selection of your essay topic, you have two possibilities:
− You decide on one of the already given questions or
− You formulate a question yourself within the subject area which you would like to work on in your research
essay. In this case, please consider that the question must be agreed upon in advance with the tutor and
approved by them. The independent delimitation and formulation of a question represents a good
preparation and exercise, especially regarding the later thesis.
Introductory literature references are given for each of the subject areas, which can serve as a starting point. It is
expected that further literature sources will be researched and incorporated into the research essay. It should be
noted that the theoretical approach and the related literature research are the main focus of the research essay.

Note on copyright and plagiarism:

Please take note that IU Internationale Hochschule GmbH holds the copyright to the examination tasks. We
expressly object to the publication of tasks on third-party platforms. In the event of a violation, IU Internationale
Hochschule is entitled to injunctive relief. We would like to point out that every submitted written assignment is
checked using a plagiarism software. We therefore suggest not to share solutions under any circumstances, as
this may give rise to the suspicion of plagiarism.

1.1 Task 1: Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Society

Hill, K. (2020, January 18). The Secretive Company That Might End Privacy as We Know It. The New York Times.
Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/18/technology/clearview-privacy-facial-recognition.html

Shen G, Horikawa T, Majima K, Kamitani Y (2019). Deep image reconstruction from human brain activity. PLoS
Comput Biol 15(1): e1006633. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006633

Possible questions for the research essay:

Please select only one of the proposed questions,

– What are the dangers of using unregulated AI technologies on society?

– What are the risks of using AI technologies where the working principles of the technologies are unknown or
not disclosed?
– How can society work towards developing ethical standards regarding acceptable use of AI technology?
– How can ethical standards in research and development of AI technologies protect society from
unregulated AI applications?
– How can individuals be educated about the impact of the widespread use of AI technologies on their lives?

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1.2 Task 2: Bias in Artificial Intelligence

Israni, E.Th. (2017, October 26). When an Algorithm Helps Send You to Prison. The New York Times. Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/26/opinion/algorithm-compas-sentencing-bias.html

Cossins, D. (2018, April 12). Discriminating algorithms: 5 times AI showed prejudice. NewScientist. Retrieved from
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2166207-discriminating-algorithms-5-times-ai-showed-prejudice/

Wachter-Boettcher, S. (2017). Technically Wrong: Sexist Apps, Biased Algorithms, and Other Threats of Toxic Tech.
WW Norton & Co.

O’Neill, C. (2016). Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy.
Crown.

Possible questions for the research essay:

Please select only one of the proposed questions.

– How can bias develop in AI technologies?

– How can bias be avoided in AI technologies?
– How can individuals or society as a whole detect that they are impacted by biased AI?
– What is the impact on using biased AI technologies on society?
– How can ethical standards in research and development of AI technologies protect society from biased AI
applications?

1.3 Task 3: AI, automation and the future of work

Partington, R (2017, December 28). UK’s poorest to fare worst in age of automation, thinktank warns. The
Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/dec/28/uks-poorest-to-fare-
worst-in-age-of-automation-thinktank-warns

Stancombe, Ch. et al (2017, September 3). Turning AI into concrete value: the successful implementers’ toolkit.
Capgemini Consulting. Retrieved from https://www.capgemini.com/gb-en/wp-
content/uploads/sites/3/2017/09/dti-ai-report_final1-1.pdf

Possible questions for the research essay:

Please select only one of the proposed questions.

– What are the benefits for companies to invest in and integrate AI technologies?
– How will companies change when they integrate AI technologies?
– What is the impact of integrating AI technologies in companies on employees?
– Which challenges do employees face if companies integrate AI technologies?
– How can the impact due to the rise of AI technologies on employees be mitigated by society, politics or
companies themselves?

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2. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE RESEARCH ESSAY

When conceptualizing and writing the written assignment, the evaluation criteria and explanations given in the
writing guidelines should be considered.

3. TUTORIAL SUPPORT
In this written assignment task, several support channels are open; as the student, it is your responsibility to select
your preferred support channel. The tutor is available for technical consultations and for formal and general
questions regarding the procedure for processing the research essay. However, the tutor is not required to
approve outlines or parts of texts and drafts. Independent preparation is part of the examination work and is
included in the overall evaluation. However, general editing tips and instructions are given in order to help you
get started with the written assignment.

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