AI, ethics, and the societal impact of computing
Aligned to CSTA-IC — CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards.
What this lesson teaches
As computing and artificial intelligence grow more powerful, they raise ethical, legal, and societal questions: how is personal data used, where does bias creep in, how does automation affect jobs, who owns AI-generated work, and who is responsible when a system makes a harmful mistake? Reasoning carefully about benefits, harms, and fairness is part of being a responsible citizen and an ethical builder of technology.
Worked example
A company uses an AI to screen job applications and notices it rarely advances women, because it learned from years of past hires that were mostly men. The tool was efficient but unfair, raising the question of who is responsible for the harm and how to fix it.
Practice questions
- Name two ethical questions raised by powerful AI systems.
- If an AI system makes a harmful decision, who do you think should be responsible, and why?
- Describe one benefit and one risk of using AI to make decisions about people.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Inteligencia artificial, ética e impacto social de la computación
A medida que la computación y la inteligencia artificial se vuelven más poderosas, surgen preguntas éticas, legales y sociales: ¿cómo se usan los datos personales?, ¿dónde se cuelan los sesgos?, ¿cómo afecta la automatización al empleo?, ¿quién es dueño del trabajo generado por IA?, y ¿quién es responsable cuando un sistema comete un error dañino? Reflexionar con cuidado sobre los beneficios, los daños y la equidad es parte de ser un ciudadano responsable y un creador ético de tecnología.
Ejemplo: Una empresa usa una IA para filtrar solicitudes de empleo y nota que rara vez avanza a mujeres, porque aprendió de años de contrataciones pasadas en las que la mayoría eran hombres. La herramienta era eficiente, pero injusta, lo que plantea la pregunta de quién es responsable del daño y cómo solucionarlo.
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