Ethics of AI

• Discover core ethical concepts, distinctions, and methods to reason rigorously about AI deployment
• Apply a sociotechnical lens to evaluate ethical considerations at every stage of AI development
• Confidently articulate complex ethical trade-offs, including power, risk, and benefit
• Determine your individual and roles-based responsibilities when working with AI tools
• Build tangible artefacts, including a capstone project
• Interact with tutors and other professionals through live sessions and forum discussions

This online masterclass runs over three weeks, with a time commitment of 6–8 hours per week. The course offers different methods that will help support your reasoning on ethical AI use, inviting critical evaluation and unpacking some of the complexities around technology and ethics in a peer-group setting.

You will have opportunities to apply what you learn to different hands-on activities in every module, and leave the course having completed a capstone that considers ethical implications of AI.

This masterclass is for people who use, manage, evaluate, or advise on AI. Grounded in LSE's philosophy department, this AI ethics course gives you a working set of concepts and methods you can bring to any AI system you encounter. The aim isn't to leave with a checklist, but with a defensible, ethically informed approach to AI that evolves alongside the technology.

Professionals in the following roles will especially benefit:

• Executives, founders, and board members who treat AI as a leadership responsibility rather than just a technology problem, and want to set standards and accountability for their teams
• Tech leads, product managers, and data scientists involved in AI deployment who want to untangle the ethical complexities inherent in AI systems and understand their impact
• Consultants and advisors who want to build frameworks to guide client organisations and leadership teams through high-stakes AI decisions
• Compliance, governance, and risk professionals who must navigate high-stakes AI decisions and want to articulate ethical justifications beyond regulatory requirements
• Professionals who use AI in their day-to-day work across finance, marketing, sales, HR, and operations, who want to understand their responsibilities when leveraging these tools
• Civic, policy, and social-impact professionals in the public sector, NGOs, journalism, and development, who want to explore the systemic ethical impacts of AI on fairness, democracy, and power

This AI ethics course is also suitable for anyone who is looking for a rigorous, philosophy-led introduction to the ethics of AI.

LSE Online builds on our 130-year tradition of exploring the interconnected, multidisciplinary nature of our world that shapes society and business globally. Since our inception in 1895, LSE has been a pioneer in providing courses for professional development. Our founding commitment is to understand the causes of things for the betterment of society. Never has this been a more important goal than in these times of unparalleled change. We provide you with the insights and skills to think critically and independently. To make the connections, see the greater picture. To shape the future by understanding today. Whatever stage you are in your life and career. Wherever you are in the world.

This online masterclass is designed by LSE faculty, with contributions from guest speakers, who will share their experience and in-depth knowledge with you throughout the course.

Entry requirements

There are no prerequisites for this course.