The Turing Commons

Introduction

The aim of the Turing Commons is to provide a range of high-quality, openly available resources for those who are curious about the ethical and responsible use of data-driven technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI).

A series of courses and modules are available, including topics such as responsible research and innovation, AI fairness, public engagement of data science and AI, data justice and AI ethics and governance. Whether you're a curious citizen looking to have greater control over local matters, a researcher interested in investigating the ethical consequences of your project’s work, or a software engineer looking to take more responsibility over the consequences of your system, there are resources available to help you.

Launched in 2020, the Turing Commons sits within the Public Policy programme’s Ethics and Responsible Innovation theme and is co-led with the Tools, Practices and Systems programme and in collaboration with the Tuing's Skills team. 

Courses and Modules

The content of the Turing Commons is updated frequently and the main website is the best place to access new content. However, the following courses are central to the Turing Commons offerings:

• Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI): will explore what it means to take (individual and collective) responsibility for (and over) the processes and outcomes of research and innovation in data science and AI.
• Public Engagement of Data Science and AI (PED): designed to help you understand the practical and ethical value of public engagement with data science and AI.
• AI Ethics & Governance (AEG): this course has practical and sometimes hands-on activities that are designed to a) encourage critical reflection and b) help you build practical understanding of the processes associated with effective and responsible engagement with AI systems. While they can be carried out as part of individual and self-directed learning, they are most suited to group discussion.
• Data Justice (DJ): this course explores the emerging movement of data justice, which seeks to apply a social justice-oriented approach to examining the range of social, political and material concerns arising within our increasingly datafied society.
   

Resources

In addition to the above courses, we have a wide range of free and openly accessible resources which support these courses and derive from topical research projects, such as the Accessible Images of AI.

Resources include (but are not limited to):

• Illustrations for a range of AI- and data-related concepts to support visual communication (all released under a CC-BY-4.0 license),
• Guidebooks and activities for running your own practical workshops or events, based on our courses or modules, and 
• Case studies to help anchor critical reflection and deliberation. 

You can find our resources here.

Training and events

The project team are currently in the process of re-designing their approach to training and events to ensure more organisations and individuals can access the resources (e.g. self-directed learning, train-the-trainer approach). 

For more information about this work or to see upcoming events, please visit our blog.