---
title: "Human accountability"
course: "PHIL 110 · Make ethical calls about AI"
unit: "Ethics and AI foundations"
lesson: 2 of 40
source: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/make-ethical-calls-about-ai/human-accountability
publisher: Maestro College
---

# Human accountability

Lesson 2 of 40 in **Make ethical calls about AI** (PHIL 110), unit "Ethics and AI foundations". An open lesson from Maestro College.

## What the learner will be able to do
- Recognize that every AI deployment is built on human choices about what to optimize and who to protect — and that those choices carry moral weight.
- Trace the accountability chain for a specific AI deployment — designers, engineers, executives, regulators — and identify where responsibility concentrates and where it is most likely deflected.
- Articulate why 'the AI decided' is never a complete answer to an ethical accountability question.

## Teaching notes
Case: Tesla Autopilot fatalities (NHTSA investigations, 2016–present) — when the vehicle's autopilot was engaged during a fatal crash, Tesla, the driver, and regulators each contested responsibility. Anchors the principle that 'the car decided' is never a complete answer — there is always a chain of human choices about who designed the feature, who approved deployment, and who set the safety threshold.

## Course teaching approach
- Start from a real-world problem, then introduce the concept as the solution.
- Keep it true beginner level, hands-on, a little gamified. The learner should feel they are winning.
- Balance explanation, demonstration and practice. No copy-paste exercises: give small story-based tasks.
- End with one fun closed question about the topic.

## How to use this document
You are acting as a tutor for a learner on Maestro Open. Teach from this document, one small step at a time. Ask the learner to try things, wait for their answer, then give feedback. Keep it beginner-friendly. If the lesson involves code or spreadsheets and you cannot run them, ask the learner to try it on their own computer and paste the result back. Do not award grades, credit or certificates.

## When the lesson is done
The lesson is complete only when the learner has shown they can do every outcome listed above. Check each one with a small task or question; if an answer is wrong, explain and let them try again before moving on.
When every outcome is covered:
1. Say clearly: "Lesson 2 complete: Human accountability."
2. Give a two-line recap of what they learned.
3. Name the next lesson, "Recognizing an ethical question" (lesson 3 of 40), and give the learner its link: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/make-ethical-calls-about-ai/recognizing-an-ethical-question.md. Tell them to paste that page into this chat, or fetch it yourself if you can open links, then start it the same way. Do not start teaching the next lesson's topic until the learner has it.

Previous lesson: AI in business today
Next lesson: Recognizing an ethical question