Programmes starting between March 2021 and July 2022

The workplace (and home) is (are) going through a technological revolution. New automated algorithms can make medical assessments or deliver financial advice, for example, faster and more accurately than human professionals. Customers are given financial advice by chatbots and other AI systems. Medical data is collected by fitbits and AI can deliver medical judgements, meaning that they have no need to interact with another human at all. And more information about customers and potential customers is collected, collated and analysed every day, allowing for targeted marketing and accurate risk analysis. Ostensibly, these technologies are being introduced in order to make commerce, business and medicine more efficient, more accurate, and more objective. Nonetheless, with new technologies come new problems, and the rapidity with which these technologies are being applied often mean these problems go unnoticed until serious ethical and legal issues emerge. This module provides students with the analytical and theoretical tools to engage with these issues in a professional context. The module is taught online alongside modules in maths and computing in which these issues are live. There are eight online units. The online units will comprise of online learning materials such as videos and online documents, some related reading, and a facilitated online discussion forum per topic. There will be group work and group presentations which focus on discussion of concrete case studies in AI.

Module summary

This module is designed to help students develop and demonstrate the skills required to carry out a substantial individual project in a chosen aspect of Artificial Intelligence. Core skills for conducting the individual project are developed through guided online learning.

Objectives

On completion of this module, students should be able to:

- demonstrate an in-depth comprehension of the topics/issues relevant to the AI project;
- select and apply the appropriate AI methods for their chosen AI project area;
- demonstrate independent application of the knowledge, methods and techniques that have been acquired during the AI MSc programme in producing a solution in the project;
- Normally some elements of software implementation are expected;
- demonstrate skills in project management and presentation;
- produce a critical evaluation on the outcome of the project;
- demonstrate proficiency in written communications;
- understand how to make use of a wide range of information sources.