Ethics in Computing

Ethics in AI
A public debate on the social and ethical implications of AI and how we can create a positive future for the sake of our citizens and humanity. Play video
A public debate on the social and ethical implications of AI and how we can create a positive future for the sake of our citizens and humanity.

Ethics in AI

The Department of Computing hosted a public event on 26 January 2018 on the subject 'Ethics in Artificial Intelligence (AI)'. It is an important subject, with AI not only a new frontier in business and technology but also in ethics and risk assessment.

The event featured a debate on social and ethical implications of AI, what the world will look like in the next ten years and how we can make sure it goes in a positive direction for the sake of our citizens and humanity in general. Chaired by Ian Sample, Science Editor of the Guardian, the event involved experts in AI, ethics, philosophy, theology and public policy, including:

  • Reverend Dr Malcolm Brown, Church of England
  • Professor Andrew Blake, Head of Research of the Alan Turning Institute
  • Dr Joanna Bryson, University of Bath, AXA Awardee for Responsible AI
  • Reema Patel, Co-investigator, RSA-DeepMind Project, 'The Role of Citizens in Developing Ethical AI'
  • Professor Maja Pantic, Affective Computing, Imperial College

The ethical implications of using AI in everything from detecting people, optimising logistics, providing translations and even composing art was explored - highlighting how artificial intelligence systems are not only changing what and how we are doing business but also transforming who we are.

Code of Ethics

HiPEDS Code of Conduct

In a half-day workshop members of the 2017, 2016 and 2015 cohorts of the Centre for Doctoral Training in High Performance Embedded and Distributed Systems (HiPEDS) discussed questions and issues around societal and ethical implications of research in engineering disciplines. The group of PhD students reflected on their own research areas and explored potential risks that may occur as a consequence of their research outputs.


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ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

The actions of computing professionals directly impact significant aspects of society. In order to meet their responsibilities, computing professionals must always support the public good. The ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct ("the Code") reflects this obligation by expressing the conscience of the profession and provides guidance to support ethical conduct of all computing professionals.

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WEF Code of Ethics for Researchers

The World Economic Forum Young Scientists Community - a group of leading researchers under the age of 40 from diverse fields and all regions of the world including two DoC academics, Dr Bjoern Schuller and Dr Ben Glocker - came together to identify and reflect on the cross-cutting ethical issues they are faced with. This universal Code of Ethics is the result of their extensive reflections and consultations with researchers and ethicists.

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