Course Outline

Foundations of Ethics in Autonomous Systems

  • Defining autonomy in artificial intelligence (AI) systems
  • Key ethical theories applied to machine behavior
  • Stakeholder perspectives and value-sensitive design for government

Societal Risks and High-Stakes Use Cases

  • Autonomous agents in public safety, health, and defense sectors
  • Human-AI collaboration and the boundaries of trust
  • Scenarios of unintended consequences and risk amplification in critical applications

Legal and Regulatory Landscape

  • Overview of AI legislation and policy trends (EU AI Act, NIST, OECD)
  • Accountability, liability, and the legal personhood of AI agents for government use
  • Global governance initiatives and existing gaps

Explainability and Decision Transparency

  • Challenges of black-box autonomous decision-making in public sector applications
  • Designing for explainable and auditable agents to enhance transparency for government operations
  • Transparency tools and frameworks (e.g., model cards, datasheets) for government use

Alignment, Control, and Moral Responsibility

  • AI alignment strategies to ensure agent behavior aligns with ethical standards for government
  • Human-in-the-loop vs. human-on-the-loop control paradigms in public sector applications
  • Shared responsibility between designers, users, and institutions for government oversight

Ethical Risk Assessment and Mitigation

  • Risk mapping and critical failure analysis in the design of autonomous agents for government
  • Safeguards and off-switch mechanisms to ensure control and safety
  • Bias, discrimination, and fairness auditing in AI systems used by government agencies

Governance Design and Institutional Oversight

  • Principles of responsible AI governance for government operations
  • Multistakeholder oversight models and audits to ensure accountability for government
  • Designing compliance frameworks for autonomous agents in public sector use

Summary and Next Steps

Requirements

  • Understanding of artificial intelligence systems and machine learning fundamentals for government applications
  • Familiarity with autonomous agents and their practical uses in public sector environments
  • Knowledge of ethical and legal frameworks governing technology policy for government operations

Audience

  • AI ethicists focusing on public sector issues
  • Policy makers and regulators in the federal, state, and local governments
  • Advanced AI practitioners and researchers working for government agencies
 14 Hours

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