Course Overview

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Welcome!

This course will examine the opportunities and challenges introduced by business analytics through the perspectives of the law and ethics. Rapidly evolving technologies that permit the collection, storage, aggregation, analysis, and use of data create opportunities for financial benefit and the common good, but also create challenges to legal rights such as privacy, equality, and dignity, and to ethical values, such as autonomy, trust, and virtue. The course will be framed as a contextual examination of business analytics to facilitate learning about legal and ethical standards for private organizations using data analytics techniques in various stages of the data life cycle. This is a dynamic course which presents a rich basis for student learning and contemplation of central questions for “big data”, including issues related to acquisition and use of data; professional and social responsibility in the application of modern technologies; the efficacy of management by algorithm; and the loss of human control in using artificial intelligence. The following are examples of legal and ethical issues: in law: information privacy law; constitutional protection of civil liberties; European Union data privacy regulation; employment law and protection from discrimination; consumer protection; the law of negligence; and agency law; in ethics: adverse effects of data collection on vulnerable populations; transparency and honesty in the cleaning, processing, and visualization of data; introduction of the machine equivalent of implicit bias in feature selection; and responsibilities when using data analysis as a tool to guide human decision-making.

Program Outcomes

  • Ethical Decision Making

Course Outcomes

  •  Describe legal rules and regulatory obligations applicable to the use and practice of business analytics.
  • Describe a framework for relating traditional ethical values to challenges and opportunities created by business analytics.
  • Engage in structured legal and moral decision-making in the context of business analytics.
  • Appreciate the perspectives of multiple actors on controversies about privacy, manipulation, algorithmic bias, and adverse social impact.
  • Understand the ways that business analytics changes the dynamics of the relationships between business and its stakeholders, especially employees and customers.

Instructors

This course was co-designed by Drs. Sedgwick and Colaner who are introduced to you in this module.  Dr. Sedgwick's expertise is law.  Dr. Colaner's expertise is ethics.  During  the course you will have readings and presentations from each of them.  Each week you will hear from one of your instructors at the beginning of the week in a "just in time" video where they will present an overview of the week ahead and highlight important reminders. If you need to reach them at any time during this course, please email gsedgwick@seattleu.edu or colanern@seattleu.edu. She will generally respond to you within 24 hours.  If you have questions for Dr. Colaner and would like to reach him, email colanern@seattleu.edu. Both professors are also on LinkedIn and happy to connect with you there as well. 

Before the first class make sure you: