Enhancing Enrollment and Participation in Computing Ethics through CIRCLE: Cross-Campus Responsible Computing Learning Experiences

In this paper, we introduce our project: Cross-campus Interdisciplinary Responsible Computing Learning Experiences (CIRCLE). This project introduced undergraduate students in all fields to ethical computing by integrating responsible computing and ethical Artificial Intelligence (AI) into existing undergraduate courses in computer science major and organizing a series of speaker events at San Jose State University. The project aimed to redesign curricula and pedagogy to include diverse perspectives and interdisciplinarity, foster critical thinking about the design and use of technology, promote cultural sensitivity to recognize how technology may perpetuate or deepen inequality, and create more equitable systems that build responsible ethical tools. Enrollment in a course with modified syllabus focused on ethical AI and Computer Vision increased by 21 more students (increased in enrollment is approximately 123.53%), and attendance for the speaker series rose from 31.4% to 100%• This work demonstrates a case study that provides ways to increase students' participation and enrollment in Computer Science courses and the benefits of expanding experiences to bring responsible computing to a much broader range of students on campus.