MSCAO37013 - Ethics in Big Data Analytics

Big Data and data analytics have generated momentous advancements in industry, including manufacturing, health care, transportation, and retail, as well as in government, politics, science, and social welfare.

To channel the use of Big Data and data analytics as constructively as possible, however, data analysts should be able to identify, discuss, debate, and make informed decisions about an array of challenging issues such as privacy and bias.  Data analysts need to bring moral sensibility and ethical judgment to their work.

This four-session course will introduce you to major ethical issues confronting data analytics.  Its goal is to equip students with the ability to understand the ethical/moral dimensions of their work, discuss and debate these issues, and develop the ability to speak clearly and lucidly about them.

The course is offered on a Pass/Fail basis and involves lecture, discussion, guest speakers, case studies, mock debates, video, and “what if” scenarios. 

Students will be required to complete approximately 20 – 30 pages of reading each week to participate in classroom discussion and activities.  Students may work collectively on an ethics project during class time.  There are no quizzes or essays.   Students can only miss one of the four sessions to pass the course.