Abstract:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a tool that has shown its profound relation to innovation, having an important impact on multiple fields. This impact, however, should be bound to its social dimension. To this end, it is therefore imperative for the Computer Science students and future AI engineers to acquire cross-disciplinary approaches to learning AI.

For this aim, we designed the Challenge-Device-Synthesis methodology (CDS), in which a specific challenge is presented to the students of AI, who are invited to create a device as a solution for the challenge. The device becomes the object of study for the different dimensions of social transformation, and the conclusions addressed by the students during the discussion around the device are presented in the form of a 10-page scientific paper. The paper is evaluated taking into account both the depth of analysis and the level to which it genuinely reflects the social transformations associated with the AI-based solution.

The Challenge identifies real-world scenarios which might radically be affected by the advent of AI technology. A set of Challenges is proposed by the interdisciplinary teaching team, comprised of a physicist, a computer scientist and a social psychologist. Examples of challenges are Health, Robotics, Generative technologies or Quantum Machine Learning technologies.

The Device constitutes a concrete example of the candidate AI-based technology, and it will have to be implemented by the students as a fully working prototype by the end of the course. The device is conceived as a route to link the project with the specific societal impacts to be studied, rather than an object for evaluation in the subject.

The synthesis instrument consists of a scientific paper which uses the device as a source of deflection for the discussion on the potential societal transformations created by it. It is also the piece of work which will be finally evaluated by the teachers.

We propose a specific calendarization framework embedded for a 6 ECTS subject called “Social Innovation,” which was implemented for the Degree on Artificial Intelligence at UAB, Barcelona. Lectures were organised in two 2-hour weekly sessions during 13 weeks. In the first weekly session, fundamental theoretical tools –such as a critical approach to the concept of innovation; concepts on the relationship between science, technology and society; political dimensions of technological implementation; citizen centric innovation and citizen science–, are provided to the students. During the second weekly session the reflections for the specific devices are integrated by the teams consisting of 4 students.

Preliminary results show a rich diversity of devices (including githubs, artistic creations, machine learning libraries and business models) that allow for a deep understanding of the actual transformative impact that the AI can have at societal level. These results also provide evidence about the natural acquisition of the social competences needed to be integrated in the curriculum of the future AI engineers.

Keywords:

Artificial Intelligence, Multidisciplinary, Social Psychology, Computer Science, Social Innovation, Challenge-device-synthesis.