Teaching Through the AI Transformation

Unit Plan

Ethics, Equity, and the Future of Work

Activities

Teaching with E.L.O.N.  (Enriched Learning Opportunity Nexus) that seamlessly integrates AI 
Week 2
Essential Questions
  • Who is most affected when AI replaces human labor?
  • How do ethics and equity shape decisions about AI implementation?
  • What are possible futures in a society shaped by AI?

Learning Objectives
By the end of Week 2, participants will be able to:
  • Analyze how AI-related job loss disproportionately affects vulnerable groups.
  • Identify and evaluate key ethical dilemmas around AI and automation.
  • Explore multiple future scenarios shaped by AI policy, ownership, and culture.
  • Articulate personal and community concerns related to AI’s role in society.

Required Readings and Videos (with URLs)
  1. AI and the Future (PDF – excerpt for students)
    Download excerpt from: teacher provided handout from "AI and the Future" document
    (Content includes job risk lists, ethical concerns, and future scenarios)
  2. Who Should Decide How AI Is Used?
    Future of Life Institute
    https://futureoflife.org/background/who-should-decide-how-ai-is-used/
  3. AI, Algorithms, and Equity: Who’s Accountable?
    Harvard Kennedy School
    https://ash.harvard.edu/news/ai-algorithms-and-equity-whos-accountable
  4. Ethics in AI: A Human-Centered Approach
    Stanford HAI
    https://hai.stanford.edu/news/ethics-ai-human-centered-approach
  5. Socratic Seminar Preparation: “Corporate AI Dystopia” and “Post-Work Utopia” scenarios
    (from course PDF, pages titled: Scenario 1–5)

Learning Activities
Activity 1: Ethical Dilemma Roleplay
Objective: Explore the ethical trade-offs in AI decision-making.
Instructions:
  • Divide into small groups. Assign each group a scenario (e.g., automating delivery jobs, AI hiring, facial recognition in schools).
  • Each group writes and performs a brief skit or dialogue in which a company, worker, and AI ethicist argue their perspective.
  • Use the Stanford HAI article to help each group frame their ethical concerns.
  • Debrief: What trade-offs emerged? Was there a clear "right" choice?

Activity 2: Scenario Mapping
Objective: Understand and critique future pathways for AI in society.
Instructions:
  • Read the five future scenarios (from the “AI and the Future” document).
  • Assign each group one scenario (e.g., Post-Work Utopia, Corporate AI Dystopia, etc.).
  • Create a large visual map or infographic of the scenario:
    • Key features
    • Winners and losers
    • Ethical challenges
    • Educational/career implications
  • Present to the class. Compare and contrast the scenarios.
    Optional Extension: Write a journal entry imagining your life in that future.

Activity 3: Socratic Seminar – “Is a robot’s efficiency more important than a human’s dignity?”
Objective: Encourage deep reflection and respectful debate on core issues.
Instructions:
  • Prepare by reading “AI, Algorithms, and Equity” and selected future scenarios.
  • Use guiding questions:
    • Who benefits from AI adoption—and who is left behind?
    • Should companies be allowed to automate even if communities are harmed?
    • Can laws and ethics keep up with AI advancements?
  • Format: Inner circle discusses, outer circle observes and reflects.

Formative Assessment and Reflection
Exit Ticket Prompts (Choose One)
  • What is one ethical dilemma AI raises that you hadn’t thought about before?
  • Which future scenario feels most realistic to you—and why?
  • Describe a policy or safeguard you think is essential in an AI-driven world.

Quiz (Digital or Printed)
​Sample Questions:
  1. Name one group that may be disproportionately affected by AI job loss.
  2. Define “AI ethics” in your own words.
  3. List two features of the “Corporate AI Dystopia” scenario.
  4. Explain one ethical issue with AI use in hiring or surveillance.

Optional Homework or Extension Activity
  • Article Analysis: Find a news article showing an ethical conflict involving AI (e.g., facial recognition, bias in algorithms, surveillance). Annotate the article and prepare to summarize it for the next session.
  • Design a Policy: Draft a one-page “AI Equity Policy” for schools or workplaces. What protections or practices would you recommend?
​The following activities include AI tools that enhance student engagement, provide data-driven insights, and facilitate personalized learning. ​
Group Activity 1: AI Bias Audit Lab
Objective: Examine how AI tools can reflect bias and make ethically questionable decisions.
Tools Needed: ChatGPT, DALL·E, or any AI image/text generator
Instructions:
  1. Each group prompts an AI tool with neutral, job-related inputs (e.g., "Generate a picture of a CEO" or "Write a resume for a software engineer").
  2. Analyze the results for potential biases in gender, race, appearance, or assumptions.
  3. Use the Harvard Kennedy article on algorithmic equity to assess implications.
  4. Document findings in a shared presentation:
    • Prompt used
    • AI output
    • Identified bias (if any)
    • Possible impacts
    • Proposed solution or safeguard
Debrief: Share presentations and discuss: Can bias be fully eliminated in AI?

Group Activity 2: Scenario Generator with AI
Objective: Use AI to simulate future societies and analyze their ethical and social structures.
Tools Needed: ChatGPT
Instructions:
  1. Each group chooses a future scenario (e.g., Technocratic Governance).
  2. Ask ChatGPT to simulate a day in the life of a teenager, worker, or teacher in that world.
    • Prompt example: “Describe a day in the life of a school teacher in a society where AI makes all educational policy decisions.”
  3. Identify:
    • Power structures
    • Sources of inequality
    • Role of human agency
  4. Summarize insights and compare with real-world ethical concerns.
Extension: Turn the scenario into a short AI-generated dialogue or script.

AI-Integrated Individual Activities
Individual Activity 1: Ethics Chat Simulation
Objective: Use AI to model ethical debates and test argument development.
Tool: ChatGPT (customizable roleplay)
Instructions:
  1. Select a current AI ethical issue (e.g., AI in hiring, robot caregivers, facial recognition in schools).
  2. Prompt ChatGPT to simulate a Socratic dialogue:
    “Debate me on whether facial recognition should be used in public schools. You take the opposing view.”
  3. Engage in a 5–10 exchange debate with ChatGPT.
  4. Reflect in writing:
    • What arguments were most compelling?
    • What ethical principles were involved?
    • Did your position change or evolve?

Individual Activity 2: AI Ethics Visual EssayObjective: Use AI tools to visualize an ethical issue and reflect on its impact.
Tools Needed: Canva or Google Slides + AI image generator (DALL·E, Craiyon, etc.)
Instructions:
  1. Choose an ethical concern discussed this week.
  2. Generate an AI image or collage that represents the dilemma.
    • E.g., prompt: “A robot hiring a person while ignoring a disabled candidate.”
  3. Create a one-slide visual essay:
    • Image
    • 100–150 words explaining the ethical issue
    • A personal stance or policy recommendation

Individual Activity 3: “Rewrite the Future” Prompt Engineering
​Objective: Learn how AI responds to human framing—and how prompts can shape narratives.
Tool: ChatGPT
Instructions:
  1. Pick one future scenario from the course (e.g., Corporate AI Dystopia).
  2. Ask ChatGPT to rewrite the scenario with different values prioritized (e.g., community, equity, democracy).
    • Original prompt: “Describe a Corporate AI Dystopia.”
    • New prompt: “Rewrite the Corporate AI Dystopia scenario to reflect equitable power-sharing between communities and corporations.”
  3. Analyze:
    • How did the language and outcome change?
    • What assumptions did the original version contain?
Reflection: Submit a journal entry comparing the two outputs and the ethical implications of prompt design.
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