AI and Ethics

Applied Ethics: The Six Lenses

Overview

# Overview

Curriculum.Units

Contested applications of AI — algorithmic hiring, autonomous weapons, medical liability — examined through six ethical lenses. Students construct and defend a reasoned argument from an assigned position while naming the cost of the verdict.

# Objectives

Curriculum.Units
  • 01 By the end, you can Examine a contested AI case through the six ethical lenses and name its harm, its benefit and who is responsible.
  • 02 By the end, you can Use a model to draft an argument from your assigned lens, then test it against the other five.
  • 03 By the end, you can Argue your assigned position fully — including the cost it carries — and state the opposing side fairly.
  • 04 By the end, you can Combine both to produce and deliver a written legal argument for one stakeholder at the Tribunal.

# Sessions

Curriculum.Sessions
  1. Six Lenses for AI Ethics
    AI concepts
    • Debate Ethics Bowl Debate Two teams reason aloud through a hard AI case in front of judges, scored on how careful their thinking is.
  2. Real AI Cases and Their Stakes
    AI concepts
    • Game Snap Judgment Panel Students anonymously submit tough AI cases; a panel quickly rules each one, then the class votes on whether to overturn.
  3. Plain News Versus Clickbait
    Applied craft
    • Warm-up Click Or Skip Show the class two headlines for the same AI story, one plain and one clickbait, and have students vote which one they would click and say out loud why.
    • Worksheet Loaded Word Hunt Students highlight every emotional or exaggerated word in a real clickbait AI article and write next to each one the trick it is trying to pull on the reader.
    • Build Rewrite It Twice Students take one plain AI news story and rewrite it once as bait for clicks and once as calm honest reporting, choosing the role and audience for each version, then compare the two.
  4. The Tribunal
    Deliverable prep
    • Role-play Mock AI Court Students play lawyers, judges, and a clerk to argue a real AI harm case, then the judges give a ruling.

Applied · Ethics

# Knowledge & Skills

ACA-Applied
K Knowledge · what you know
The six viewpoints (lenses) are rights, fairness, usefulness, the common good, good character, and care for others.
Each viewpoint gives a different decision on the same case, and learners are given their viewpoint rather than choosing it.
A decision states what it costs and who has to pay that cost.
S Skills · what you can do
Examine real AI cases, such as computers picking who gets hired, weapons that act without a person, and the rules we agree to live by. point w1d3-s2-p1; evidence w1d3-e4
Examine one case using six viewpoints: rights, fairness, usefulness, the common good, good character, and care for others. point w1d3-s1-p1; evidence w1d3-e1
Write an argument for one side, then explain the opposing side fairly. point w1d3-s3-p1
Rewrite the same news story in a plain, honest way and as clickbait (writing made to trick people into clicking), then point out the words used to manipulate readers. point w1d3-s3-p2; evidence w1d3-e5
Name who was harmed, who benefited, and who is responsible. point w1d3-s2-p2; evidence w1d3-e2
T Techniques · named subskills
Care Lens Who is vulnerable in this situation, and what do they need?
Common Good Lens Does it serve the shared interest of the community, not just individuals?
Justice Lens Is the burden or benefit distributed fairly?
Rights Lens Does the action respect people's fundamental entitlements?
Utility Lens Does it produce the best overall outcome, costs included?
Virtue Lens What would a person of good character do here?

AI

# AI Concepts

ACA-AI.Concepts
Aligned with AI4K12 · Five Big Ideas in AI View framework →
AI4K12 · Five Big Ideas in AI
5-A-I

Diversity and Disparate Impacts

AI systems can have different effects on different groups of people due to bias in data, design, or deployment.

AI4K12 · Five Big Ideas in AI
3-C-III

Bias

Errors or unfairness in training data, algorithms, or design can cause machine learning systems to make incorrect or discriminatory predictions.

AI4K12 · Five Big Ideas in AI
5-A-II

Ethical Design Criteria

Developers should consider principles like fairness, transparency, and accountability when building AI systems.

AI4K12 · Five Big Ideas in AI
5-A-III

Practicing Ethical Design

Teams can use processes and frameworks to identify and address ethical concerns throughout an AI system's development.

AI4K12 · Five Big Ideas in AI

Draft One Lens, Check Six

A computer program that writes text can draft an argument from one viewpoint, and that draft can then be checked against the other five viewpoints.

AI4K12 · Five Big Ideas in AI

Hiring, Weapons, and Blame

Example cases include using computers to choose job candidates and how this can carry old biases forward, weapons that act without a person controlling them, and who is responsible when a doctor acts on advice from a computer program.

# AI Competencies

ACA-AI.Competencies
Aligned with UNESCO · AI Competency Framework for Students View framework →
Ethics of AI
4.2.1

Human Accountability

Understanding responsibility frameworks and human oversight mechanisms that ensure AI systems are used responsibly and accountably.

AI Techniques and Applications
4.3.2

Ethics by Design

Systematically integrating ethical considerations throughout the entire lifecycle of AI system development and deployment.

Human-Centred Mindset
4.1.2

Embodied Ethics

Internalizing ethical principles and developing the ability to recognize and navigate ethical dilemmas in AI contexts.

Ethics of AI
4.2.2

Safe and Responsible Use

Practicing safe and ethical use of AI tools and systems, recognizing their limitations and potential harms.

# Competency Goals

ACA-AI.Goals
Aligned with UNESCO · AI Competency Framework for Students View framework →
UNESCO · AI Competency Framework for Students
CG4.1.2.3

Internalisation of Principles

Making ethical considerations a natural and instinctive part of one's decision-making about AI systems.

UNESCO · AI Competency Framework for Students
CG4.1.2.2

Scenario-Based Understanding

Reasoning through ethical problems using realistic cases and evaluating different perspectives and solutions.

UNESCO · AI Competency Framework for Students
CG4.3.2.3

Social Responsibility in Regulation

Advocating for and shaping policies and regulations that govern AI responsibly and protect societal interests.

UNESCO · AI Competency Framework for Students
CG4.2.1.2

Human Determination When AI Decides

Maintaining human authority over decisions that significantly affect people's lives, rights, or wellbeing.

UNESCO · AI Competency Framework for Students
CG4.1.2.1

Dilemmas and Ethical Conflicts

Identifying and articulating situations where AI creates tensions between competing values and ethical principles.

UNESCO · AI Competency Framework for Students
CG4.3.1.1

Inclusive AI Society

Working toward AI systems and policies that benefit all members of society, especially marginalized communities.

Deliverable

# AI and Ethics, the Tribunal

Projects.Briefs

Argue a real AI case from the point of view you are given, then explain the opposing side fairly. A written legal document that argues the point of view you were given, plus a spoken argument in front of the judges, who then give their decision.

Transfers to: Arguing a position you don’t hold, in writing, before rebutting it.

See past cohorts ship this in the Showcase →

# Assessed toward these aims

Projects.Rubrics

This deliverable is where students demonstrate

  1. C Examine a contested AI case from a named ethical position
    Look out for
    • Using the viewpoint: The decision follows from the viewpoint you were given, and it is clear the decision would be different under another viewpoint.
    • Arguing both sides: The assigned point of view is argued fully, and the opposing point of view is then explained fairly rather than dismissed.
    • Cost of the decision: The written document names what the decision costs and who pays that cost, including the parts of the assigned viewpoint that are hard to defend.
    • Harm, benefit, responsibility: The harm, who benefits, and who is responsible are each named for the case.
    • Using the AI program: The AI program's draft is guided by a clear instruction, checked against the sources, and tested against the other five viewpoints before it is used.

# Team roles

Projects.Roles
01

Writer

Commands the AI software.

02

Researcher

Finds the resources, data, quotes and opinions the article needs.

03

Web developer

Makes sure the editor has a file that can be submitted.