Topic outline

  • Course Overview

    This course gives you an understanding of what artificial intelligence is and how it is used and applied in society and research methods. It explores the ethical issues surrounding artificial intelligence, and the uses of machine learning. 

    Learning Outcomes 

    This course will help you to: 

    1. Describe the origins and development of AI   
    2. Identify useful modern definitions of AI  
    3. Evaluate the pervasiveness of AI in our society 
    4. Discuss the importance of AI in research methods 
    5. Compare the various uses of and applicability of AI in research methods  
    6. Understand ethics and its relation to AI  
    7. Interpret the arguments for and against AI  
    8. Reflect on your standing about the potential ethical challenges of AI  
    9. Recognize what machine learning is and how it is used 
    10. Compare the different machine learning methods 
    11. Evaluate the challenges of machine learning 

    • Course Author: Dr. Eleni Papadonikolaki

      • Dr. Eleni Papadonikolaki

        Dr. Eleni Papadonikolaki is a Management Consultant and Associate Professor in Digital Innovation and Management at the Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction (BSSC) at University College London (UCL). Eleni is teaching at postgraduate and executive levels and leads the newly launched MSc in Digital Engineering Management (DEM), and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). Her research interests lie at the intersection of management, projects, social science, and digital economy. Prior to joining academia, Eleni worked as an architect-engineer and design manager on a number of complex, international and varying-scale projects in Greece, the Netherlands, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. She is an alumna of TU Delft, Netherlands, and NTUA, Greece.

        View Bio

      • Module One: Myths and Realities of Artificial Intelligence

        This module will help you to: 

        1. Describe the origins of AI   
        2. Define what AI means in a modern context    
        3. Explain its importance in research methods   
        4. Analyze the impact AI has had on our lives to date   

      • Module Two: AI in Research Methods

        This module will help you to: 

        1. Recap the common activities researchers carry out    
        2. Identify the applicability of AI to research methods 
        3. Summarize AI’s benefits to researchers 
        4. Describe the main types of data analysis   
        5. Explain the process of data mining 

      • Module Three: Ethical Challenges in AI

        This module will help you to: 

        1. Demonstrate an awareness of ethics in relation to AI  
        2. Make a case for and against AI, from an ethical perspective   
        3. Reflect on your own position on the potential for ethical AI     

      • Module Four: Machine Learning

        This module will help you to: 

        1. Describe the concept of machine learning   
        2. Explain how machine learning works, and its methodology    
        3. Analyze the applications of machine learning in the real world   
        4. Identify the social challenges posed by machine learning