AI Ethics, Care, and Futures

This unit examines real-world and fictional portrayals of AI and their implications for caregiving, companionship, workplaces, and institutions. Students evaluate power dynamics and responsible AI principles and develop personal and professional strategies to ethically integrate AI in education and child development contexts.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze media and case-study examples of AI (e.g., holograms, surveillance scenarios) to identify potential benefits, risks, and ethical tensions for caregiving and educational settings
• Evaluate the impacts of AI on workplace roles, company futures, and interpersonal care—comparing effects on employment, service quality, and vulnerable populations
• Apply responsible AI principles and policy considerations to assess power, bias, and accountability in AI systems used with children, families, and educational institutions
• Create a measurable personal and professional AI strategy that outlines steps to adopt, monitor, and mitigate harms from AI while supporting ethical practice in education and child development