Master of Arts in the field of AI, Ethics and Society

As AI continues to advance at an unprecedented pace, it is imperative that we equip ourselves with the knowledge and skills to understand and navigate the future it creates. The MA in AI, Ethics and Society programme is designed for individuals who want to be at the forefront of this revolution and shape it for the better.

The Master of Arts in the field of AI, Ethics and Society (MA-AIES) is a full-time one-year and part-time two-year programme that specialises in the normative investigation of AI and related technologies, their impact and trajectories. The programme takes as its starting point ethical, social and political questions about whether and how we should let AI and related technologies transform our lives: Should we, for example, let AIs make decisions for us when we don't fully understand why those decisions are made? How can we ensure that the decisions made by AIs are fair or just? How should we detect and deal with biases and security risks in AIs? How might AI technology affect privacy, politics, and personal relationships? These issues are now pressing in domains as varied as finance, government, law, medicine, engineering, education, military, and art. The programme aims to meet these intellectual and practical challenges in two ways: (i) Show how these challenges can be understood within frameworks of morality, justice, and social theory. (ii) Use these general frameworks to identify and address new ethical, social, and economic challenges as they arise in practice from the application of AI and emerging technologies.

Through a rigorous curriculum students will gain a deep understanding of the ethical, social, and economic implications of AI and emerging technologies. At the end of the programme, they will be in a position to apply this knowledge in various contexts, including policy-making, business strategy, ethical design, creative industries, education, and research.

What sets the MA in the field of AI, Ethics and Society programme apart is its interdisciplinary approach, which draws on a range of fields, including philosophy, computer science, social sciences, and humanities. As part of the programme, students will have the opportunity to engage with cutting-edge research through HKU's AI&Humanity Lab, where they can access leading scholars and engage in discussions with visitors from around the world. Regular talks and presentations from experts in the field will also provide a platform for students to expand their knowledge and explore the intersection of artificial intelligence and society.