AI & Society: Fixing Algorithmic Decision Making - Period 5

Algorithms are playing an increasingly important role in our society and the relationships between people, organisations, and governments and politics. The explosion of information and ease of digital transactions means that consumers, marketeers, and politicians rely on algorithms to find the most relevant product, customer, or voter. It also means that citizens more often interact with digital platforms when talking to their peers, consuming the news, and taking part in politics. These developments have given a great boost to our economy and made everyday life vastly easier, but they also come with downsides. Our privacy is being eroded by data mining, decisions about limiting freedom of speech online are becoming less transparent, inequality and stereotypes are exacerbated by algorithmic biases and political discourse is increasingly polarised by trolls, fake news, and selective exposure. This course aims to help students understand algorithms and their biases and impact on society from a multidisciplinary perspective.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam) awards credits based on the ECTS system. Contact hours listed under a course description may vary due to the combination of lecture-based and independent work required for each course therefore, CEA's recommended credits are based on the ECTS credits assigned by VU Amsterdam. 1 ECTS equals 28 contact hours assigned by VU Amsterdam.