Flourishing For All: Embedding Ethics in Undergraduate Computer Science Education Through Intelligent Digital Simulations
This program is tentative and subject to change.
The need for and challenges of including ethics in computer science education are well documented. To address the situation at this point in time, we propose building on an idea at the [Anonymized] lab at [Anonymized] University, where students are immersed in AI-coached simulations to embody domain knowledge and 21st century competencies. We will develop scenarios for students to rehearse using the ACM Code of Ethics in introductory computer science courses, with the intention to expand to more courses giving students continued, repeated opportunities for embodied practice and learning. The platform will aim to be trauma-informed, understanding that students arrive to higher education from all walks of life and need to be met where they are starting from, and to move at the pace they need to move at to integrate the learning in their own life experiences. We hypothesize that a focus on ethics throughout a computer science degree would attract more historically marginalized groups of students to the discipline, recognizing how embodying ethical behavior such that it is part and parcel of how they show up in the world as computer scientists will contribute to flourishing for all. We invite members of the SIGCSE community to envision this future with us and contribute to its fruition.