SWEN-559: Lesson: AI - Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency

Purpose

This lesson will introduce students to the ethical framework of Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAT), its history, and criticisms of it.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will be able to understand the basic concepts and methods by which data scientists use FAT
• Students will have a general understanding of commons criticisms of FAT
• Students will be able to apply the FAT framework to case studies and real life scenarios

Course Content

• Brief intro to AI
• Intro to Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency
• Criticisms of FAT
• Class activity - Applying FAT

Resources

• Machine Bias - Case Study
• GAO AI Accountability Framework - Summary
• The Problem with AI Ethics

Class Lecture (slides)

• AI - Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency

Exercises

Pre Class Homework - Individual Activity

First, please read ALL of the items linked under Resources.

Fully review content of COMPASS Case study. When finished, write an informed yet fictional story (500 words) about an individual who has been subject to the COMPASS system. Utilize details from the reading and web to detail in what ways the system had impacted both this individual as well as other characters in this story. How do they relate to this software and what sort of control do (or don't) they have in this situation?

Group Activity

Your group has been given a time machine and total power over the development of the COMPASS system. Knowing what will happen in the future if the development of COMPASS continues without the knowledge of the FAT ethical framework, your mission is to turn COMPASS into an "ethical" system.

• COMPASS - Problem Identification

  Part I

  As a first step, your group must pick apart the COMPASS case study and identify ways in which the system was unfair, unaccountable, and opaque. To do this, create a numbred list of "bug reports" in which you include the following

  • Detailed description of problem
  • Current behavior
  • Expected behavior
  • Category (for now either Fairness, Accountability or Transparency)
  *Note: There should be bugs found in each of the categories




• COMPASS - Problem Rectification (See deadlines in myCourses)

  Part II

  Next, your team should sketch out a redesign of the system according to FAT principles and research. This redesign shall be a short slide deck which includes features and processes which could be implemented by the firm creating the COMPASS software in order to adhere to the FAT ethical framework. This slide deck should detail the following for each problem identified:

  • Detailed description of problem
  • Current behavior
  • Expected behavior
  • Technical/Procedural solution proposed
  • Solution impact on business goals and potential logistical issues




• COMPASS - Problem Rectification Presentation

  Part III

  This new redesign shall be presented to the rest of the class. Presentations are to last no more than 5 minutes with an additional 5 minutes of critique.

Project Work

None