Universities Rush to Roll Out Computer Science Ethics Courses - The New York Times

Tangentially, see How Artificial Intelligence Is Edging Its Way Into Our Lives (NYT)

"The Harvard-M.I.T. course, which has 30 students, focuses on the ethical, policy and legal implications of artificial intelligence. It was spurred and financed in part by a new artificial intelligence ethics research fund whose donors include Reid Hoffman, a co-founder of LinkedIn, and the Omidyar Network, the philanthropic investment firm of Pierre Omidyar, the eBay founder.

The curriculum also covers the spread of algorithmic risk scores that use data — like whether a person was ever suspended from school, or how many of his or her friends have arrest records — to forecast whether someone is likely to commit a crime. Mr. Ito said he hoped the course would spur students to ask basic ethical questions like: Is the technology fair? How do you make sure that the data is not biased? Should machines be judging humans?"

Universities Rush to Roll Out Computer Science Ethics Courses - The New York Times