SUBMISSION
• No extensions will be granted except for the cases where an application for Special Consideration has been approved. For further details, see the University’s Special Consideration policy and eligibility.
• Late submission will incur a penalty of 10% per day of total available marks. For example, a submission that is 25 hours late will be subject to a penalty of 20% of total available marks. • Submissions will not be accepted beyond 72 hours past the submission deadline.
• Re-submissions are allowed until the deadline.
• After your final submission, make sure you check off the following:
£ I have double-checked whether the document was properly uploaded.
£ I have seen my originality report (generated after the deadline).
£ I have received the Turnitin receipt via email.
DOCUMENT PREPARATION
• Prepare your answers in one document using word processing software (e.g., Microsoft Word). Hand-written answers will not be marked. If you are currently enrolled, you have been automatically granted the full license of Microsoft 365 with your student email address. Click here for more information on how to download Microsoft 365.
• Do not add a cover page or repeat the text of the questions in your submission (simply answer questions in order, denoting Q1, Q2, Q3… etc.).
• Keep your answers within the maximum word limit given for each question. Marks will be deducted for answers that are longer than the word limit. Note that this is a maximum word limit, you may answer the question in fewer words if desired.
Some questions require diagram illustration. Diagrams can be electronically drawn, or hand drawn and must be inserted into your answer document.
o Applications for electronically drawn economic models include Microsoft Word, Microsoft OneNote, and Google Drawings. For those of you who are new to drawing such models electronically, there are some handy YouTube tutorials on how to get started.
o One way to insert a hand-drawn diagram is to take a photo of the diagram hand drawn on paper, send it to your computer via email, copy it into your document, and then crop as required.
UNACCEPTABLE ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES
• Recall “what is okay” and “what is not okay” from the Academic Integrity Module. Unacceptable academic activities may initiate the student disciplinary procedure and result in zero marks. They include, but are not limited to, contract cheating, collusion, plagiarism, and self-plagiarism
• This is an individual assignment. Writing answers with other students is not authorised hence is categorised as collusion. You may discuss with other students at the preparatory stage. However, the final version of the assignment should be written in your own words.
• Note that Turnitin will compare your submission against others’ as well as internet sources. The originality report will be made available upon the deadline
REFERENCING
• Textbook: There is no need to cite the textbook. This is because all of your discussions will need to draw upon concepts/frameworks from the textbook (hence the lecture slides/videos) anyway, which is the primary point of the assignment, e.g., use what you've learnt so far to analyse different cases. If you are directly quoting the textbook or the lecture slides (e.g., for definitions), simply put them in the quotation marks.
o Note that the information from the textbook is enough to address all questions except for Question 8.
• Articles given in the questions: If you would like to cite these articles, simply use the in-text citations. No need to include the full references as the markers will know which source you are discussing.
• Other external sources: If you still decide to use other external sources, then you are expected to use in-text citations and include the full references at the end of each question.
PART 1 | ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE I
Artificial intelligence has been increasingly adopted across many industries in recent years due to the technological advances in machine and deep learning and subsequently the falling cost of making predictions. One application of artificial intelligence in business is employee monitoring, which has been often reported by various media outlets, such as:
• The Economist. “Smile, you’re on camera: There will be little privacy in the workplace of the future.” March 28, 2018.
• Cater, Leonie & Melissa Heikkilä. “Your boss is watching: How AI-powered surveillance rules the workplace.” Politico. May 27, 2021.
(
https://www.politico.eu/article/ai-workplace-surveillance-facial-recognition-software-gdpr-privacy/
)
Address Questions 1–3 within the maximum word count. Any number of words less than or equal to the maximum can achieve a high mark as long as you meet the standards in the rubric. Revise your discussions before submission to enhance brevity and clarity
Question 1 | [max 200 words]
Discuss how the use of artificial intelligence in employee monitoring could affect the following:
• The firm’s profit
• The firm’s bargaining power
• The workers’ wellbeing
• The workers’ bargaining power
Question 2 | [ max 200 words]
Discuss whether the use of artificial intelligence in employee monitoring brings about a Pareto improvement. Your discussion must refer to your discussion for Question 1.
Question 3 | [max 300 words]
Discuss whether the use of artificial intelligence in employee monitoring results in a fairer outcome. Your discussion must refer to both of the following:
• procedural judgement of fairness
• substantive judgement of fairness
PART 2 | ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE II
The insurance industry is one of the areas which have been highly disrupted by the emergence of artificial intelligence. For example, the underwriting process, which involves assessing the risk of insurance applicants and determining whether to provide insurance, has been predicted to become significantly faster as machine and deep learning models, powered by a dramatic increase of consumer data, facilitate the automation of the process. The following articles address this disruption in detail:
• McCurry, J., “Japanese company replaces office workers with artificial intelligence”, The Guardian, January 5, 2017.
(https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/05/japanese-company-replaces-office-workers-artificial-intelligence-ai-fukoku-mutual-life-insurance)
• Balasubramanian, R., A. Libarikian, & D. McElhaney, “Insurance 2030—The impact of AI on the future of insurance”, McKinsey & Company, 2021.
(https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/financial-services/our-insights/insurance-2030-the-impact-of-ai-on-the-future-of-insurance)
Consider Bruno who manages an underwriting team in an insurance firm. Recently, the management of Bruno’s firm informed him of their decision to create a new risk assessment team, consisting of data scientists with machine learning expertise, and reduce the size of Bruno’s underwriting team. Bruno’s underwriting team will now work with the new risk assessment team in order to determine whether to provide insurance to applicants.
Address Questions 4–6 within the maximum word count. Any number of words less than or equal to the maximum can achieve a high mark as long as you meet the standards in the rubric. Revise your discussions before submission to enhance brevity and clarity.
Question 4 | [max 200 words]
Use the model of a firm’s technology choice and graphically illustrate the management’s restructuring decision in a diagram with isocost curves. Your diagram should have the amount of human intelligence on the horizontal axis and the amount of artificial intelligence on the vertical axis. Fully label your diagram. Note that there are no actual numbers given in this question: you may make them up or simply use appropriate notations. Briefly explain the key information of your diagram.
Question 5 | [max 200 words]
Graphically illustrate the impact of the management’s restructuring decision on the firm’s production function. Your diagram should have the amount of human intelligence on the horizontal axis and the number of decisions on whether to provide insurance on the vertical axis. Fully label your diagram. Note that there are no actual numbers given in this question: you may make them up or simply use appropriate notations. Briefly explain the key information of your diagram.
Question 6 | [max 200 words]
Consider Angela who currently works as a data scientist with machine learning expertise. Recently, she was offered a job by Bruno’s firm. The job offer includes a higher salary than her current job and the freedom to choose the number of work hours per day. But Angela is also an amateur musician who desperately dreams of becoming a professional one day. This motivates her to practice music as much as possible, which makes her value her free time very much.
Using the model of individual choice, and assuming Angela accepts the job offer, graphically illustrate the impact on her choice of free time and consumption. Fully label your diagram. Note that there are no actual numbers given in this question: you may make them up or simply use appropriate notations. Explain specifically its impact on the following:
• Angela’s choice of free time
• Angela’s consumption level
• Angela’s utility level
PART 3 | COVID VACCINATION
Read the following article and be informed about the vaccination roll-out in Australia:
• de New, J. P., A. Scott, & K. Parakash, “Our survey results show incentives aren’t enough to reach a 80% vaccination rate”, The Conversation, August 10, 2021.
(https://theconversation.com/our-survey-results-show-incentives-arent-enough-to-reach-a-80-vaccination-rate-165728
)
Address Questions 7–9 within the maximum word count. Any number of words less than or equal to the maximum can achieve a high mark as long as you meet the standards in the rubric. Revise your discussions before submission to enhance brevity and clarity.
Question 7 | [max 200 words]
Discuss
i) the social dilemma we may observe in the process of the vaccination roll-out and
ii) how it can be understood by game theory. To help your discussion, consider individuals who are to choose between two strategies:
i) to get vaccinated now and
ii) to wait and see.
Your discussion must refer to the following:
• social dilemma
• prisoner’s dilemma
• public goods game
• Nash equilibrium
Question 8 | [max 200 words]
Provide a potential solution to the social dilemma you discussed in Question 7. You must cite at least one reputable source from your own research. Use the source(s) to support your argument; do not simply quote the source. Include the full reference at the end of your answer, which will not count towards the word limit. Use a standard referencing system (e.g., Harvard style).
Question 9 | [max 300 words]
Evaluate whether your proposed solution is ethically acceptable by using either a consequentialist or a deontological framework. Your discussion must include:
• the definition of your chosen ethical framework, and
• the reasoning behind your ethical judgement.
See the week 6 lecture Section D and the supplementary lecture to assist your discussion.
BEFORE YOU SUBMIT: DOCUMENT PREPARATION CHECKLIST
▢ My assignment is written in full sentences and clear formal language.
▢ My assignment is proofread, and errors and typos are minimised.
▢ My assignment is written within the word limit for each question.
▢ Diagrams are drawn clearly and fully labelled. Poorly drawn diagrams reflect poor communication which may result in loss of marks.
▢ Diagrams are not distorted and properly inserted into the text boxes.
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT RUBRIC