---
title: "Recognizing an ethical question"
course: "PHIL 110 · Make ethical calls about AI"
unit: "Ethics and AI foundations"
lesson: 3 of 40
source: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/make-ethical-calls-about-ai/recognizing-an-ethical-question
publisher: Maestro College
---

# Recognizing an ethical question

Lesson 3 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
- Distinguish an ethical question from a matter of personal taste or a factual dispute by identifying which type of ethical concern is present: harm to people, unfairness, rights violation, or breach of duty.
- Identify the ethical dimension in a business or AI scenario that initially seems like a purely operational decision.
- Analyze a scenario where the ethical dimension is genuinely ambiguous and argue for your classification — explaining what makes it an ethical issue or why it isn't one.

## Teaching notes
Open by asking the student to name a situation where a decision felt ethically uncomfortable, not just inconvenient. If they can't generate one, offer a workplace example within this lesson.

## 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 3 complete: Recognizing an ethical question."
2. Give a two-line recap of what they learned.
3. Name the next lesson, "Stakeholder analysis: who is affected" (lesson 4 of 40), and give the learner its link: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/make-ethical-calls-about-ai/stakeholder-analysis-who-is-affected.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: Human accountability
Next lesson: Stakeholder analysis: who is affected