Fostering Ethics in AI: Perceptions from the Indian AI Curriculum

Abstract

In the age of rapid Artificial Intelligence (AI) advancement, universities worldwide have responded by offering specialized AI and Machine Learning (ML) courses to meet industry demands. However, amidst this surge in AI education, AI deployment's ethical and societal implications often need more attention. Unlike traditional algorithmic programming, AI involves intricate decision-making processes that are challenging to predict or explain, demanding a comprehensive understanding of its ethical dimensions. Various global initiatives have highlighted the ethical considerations surrounding AI, resulting in an increased emphasis on integrating ethics education into AI curricula. Despite this, there remains a gap in addressing these vital aspects across the broader AI education landscape, with ethics often relegated to the periphery of computer science courses. In this context, this paper explores the imperative for ethics courses in undergraduate AI education in India. We examine educators ' awareness and perceptions regarding ethics education in AI curricula through interactions with faculty members participating in professional development programs and workshops focused on AI pedagogy. Our analysis reveals that there is a pressing need to extend discussions on ethics beyond mere privacy concerns and traditional performance metrics, integrating real-life scenarios into the curriculum. This paper serves as a preliminary step towards a need for a general framework in structuring ethics education in AI in India, aiming to initiate a more comprehensive and standardized approach to AI ethics education, fostering responsible AI development in the future.