Teaching Resource Library
Technology impacts just about every aspect of our lives, making tech ethics relevant in fields ranging from marketing and healthcare to computer science and criminal justice.
As a result, faculty from a variety of disciplines may be looking for ideas on how to design their own tech ethics course or incorporate tech ethics readings into one they already teach. This page is meant to help with that.
Below you will find course descriptions and syllabi from tech ethics courses that have recently been offered at Notre Dame. Each was designated as fulfilling a requirement for ND TEC’s undergraduate minor in tech ethics, with some originating from the center itself and others cross-listed from departments around campus.
Our faculty have shared these materials primarily for use by colleagues at Notre Dame and elsewhere. Students are of course welcome to consult this page, as well, but in those cases where a class listed here is being offered in the current or upcoming semester, please be aware that the syllabus may have changed.
You may also be interested in Tech Ethics Animated, ND TEC’s series of short animated videos unpacking central concepts and concerns in technology ethics for a broad audience without an extensive background in the field.
Recent Undergraduate Tech Ethics Courses
The Archaeology of Hacking
Departments: Anthropology, Computer Science and Engineering
Credits: 3
Level: 2XXXX
Syllabus and Description
Description: “Hacking” is one of the most pressing topics of technological and societal interest. Yet it is one of the most misunderstood and mischaracterized practices in the public sphere, given its ethical and technical complexities. This course combines anthropological and computer science methods to explore the digital tools, practices, and sociocultural histories of hacking with a focus on their context of occurrence from the late 1960s to the present. The goal is to help students think anthropologically about computing as well as technically about the digital mediations that we depend on in our lives.
Fundamentals of Technology Ethics and Society
Department: Notre Dame Technology Ethics Center
Credits: 3
Level: 2XXXX
Syllabus and Description
Description: This course will introduce students to fundamental ethical and social issues related to the design, development, and use of technology. Students will develop an understanding of philosophical ethical theories as a resource for analyzing how technology impacts both individual and collective civil, political, and human rights and issues related to autonomy, privacy, and identity, as well as how it reinforces power dynamics in society and its impacts on equity, justice, and fairness. Specific topics will include bias and fairness in algorithms, privacy, data governance and civil liberties, surveillance and power, social media, and the ethics of artificial intelligence.
AI for Good
Department: Information Technology, Analytics, and Operations
Credits: 3
Level: 3XXXX
Syllabus and Description
Description: Traditional strategies to fight against poverty, inequality, and climate change have proved ineffective in the last decades. New and creative solutions are required where cutting-edge technological innovation and multidisciplinary work serve the common good. In this course, students will explore the state of the art in AI business development and its ethical implications in relation to current global societal and environmental challenges. Students will reflect on their individual roles in society and develop critical thinking about the current socio-technical value system. Readings will include original works of philosophers, economists, and computer scientists as well as examples of state-of-the-art AI-supported business and institutional projects. As a result of the readings and class discussions, students will acquire well-informed understanding about the implications of the AI Trustworthy principle of justice and fairness, including non-discrimination and avoidance of unfair bias. Students will become aware of the potential for AI to contribute, if well managed, towards fairer and more sustainable societies as well as the dangers it entails to widen inequalities and aggravate the discrimination suffered by vulnerable communities.
This is a hands-on course where students will be ideating and planning projects for the social good. The instructor will accompany students in the development of business plans where ethics is the driver and AI is the key instrument. The instructor will help students define their project ideas in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
Internet Ethics
Department: Notre Dame Technology Ethics Center
Credits: 3
Level: 3XXXX
Syllabus and Description
Description: This course explores ethical issues posed by the internet and online communication systems. The primary aim of the course is to identify ethical issues related to the internet and reason through different engineering, design, and policy solutions. Students will be introduced to standard normative ethical theories to provide them with a solid theoretical grounding that they can use to better understand and make sense of the applied ethical topics that will be the focus of the course. Topics covered include (but are not limited to) internet censorship, surveillance capitalism, echo chambers, fake news, online shaming, online anonymity, the digital divide, the right to be forgotten, the ethics of hacking, the metaverse, and intellectual property rights in the digital age. By the end of the course, students should be able to analyze and evaluate philosophical arguments as well as write formal philosophical essays.
Social Inequality, Digital Divides, & Algorithmic Literacy
Department: Notre Dame Technology Ethics Center
Credits: 3
Level: 3XXXX
Syllabus and Description
Description: In the years following its inception, utopian narratives of the internet promised unfettered access to information, markets, and relationships that would allow users to create wealth and contest power structures by building platform-based enterprises and values-based virtual communities. While some of these benefits have accrued to individuals and society, a significant body of research demonstrates that the reality of the internet’s impact on the world is much more complex. Grounded in key sociological texts, this course focuses on empirical research concerning how “Digital Divides”—differences in individuals’ access to, participation in, and benefits from using the internet—exist on geographic, demographic, and socioeconomic dimensions. It also examines the important role skill and literacy play in mitigating these differences and takes up the nascent understanding of algorithmic literacy, the increasingly critical knowledge set people need as they navigate the many facets of everyday life now powered by artificial intelligence. As part of the course, students will learn how to critically evaluate empirical social scientific publications and also compose their own literature review concerning a topic related to the course theme.
Ethics of Data Analytics
Department: Information Technology, Analytics, and Operations
Credits: 1.5
Level: 4XXXX
Syllabus and Description
Description: Data-informed decision-making has created new opportunities, but also expands the set of possible risks to organizations. One of these risks comes from grappling with the “Should we?” question with regard to data and analytics, and associated concerns with identity, privacy, ownership, and reputation. In this course, the student will explore several frameworks to address the issues related to the proper roles of public law, government regulation, professional codes, organizational approaches, and individual ethics in performing and managing analytics activities. The course will cover applicable theory and guidelines, and also make use of case studies. Upon completion, the student should be comfortable adapting one of these ethical frameworks for use in alignment with their organizational mission.
Future of Labor
Department: Keough School of Global Affairs
Credits: 3
Level: 4XXXX
Syllabus and Description
The new wave of technologies, e.g., robotics and AI, will have long-lasting impacts on the labor market. Jobs will be displaced, new tasks will be created, different skills will be demanded, and new management practices will emerge. These new technologies may benefit workers unevenly, potentially increasing inequality. At the same time, new demographic challenges driven by aging will have large impacts on labor. How will these forces affect the future of labor and how should we prepare for changes in the labor market?
The goal of this course is to provide students with a framework for analyzing how new technologies like robotics and AI will affect the labor market, drawing largely from the economics literature. Students will analyze and describe the literature on these topics and understand the different methodologies used in the literature. Ultimately, students will build perspectives on how AI and robotics could affect jobs, occupations, the future of work, income distribution, and social institutions. Students will also build perspectives on education, training, and redistribution policies that can help mitigate the labor market disruptions created by technological change. Students will collect and analyze data that can provide insights on the future of labor.