Computer systems using Artificial Intelligence techniques are increasingly deployed in our society. The automation of an increasing number of so-called “cognitive” tasks, which were once reserved to humans, raises questions about the impact of these systems on our society and our lives. Incidents already identified reveal weaknesses in these systems, sometimes technical, but also in their thinking and design. After a brief overview of AI, we will take a look at some of the issues surrounding the use and design of these systems. Two case studies will allow us to experiment with these issues in real-life situations: automatic hiring and conversational agents. Finally, we will take a look at some ways of facilitating human reflection, so as to design systems with a beneficial impact.
A 3-hour course about the ethics of AI that I gave to engineers of the “École des Mines de Saint-Étienne” (St-Étienne School of Mines), as part of the engineer cursus and the “Éthique de l’ingénieur” (Ethics of engineers) module. (This is an updated version for 2025)