Coursera today welcomed UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to its platform with the launch of UNESCO’s first free course, the Global MOOC on the Ethics of AI, developed in collaboration with LG AI Research.
UNESCO has defined standards for responsible AI usage with the first global framework on AI ethics, endorsed by 193 countries. As AI adoption accelerates, this course helps learners and institutions put those principles into action and strengthen ethical decision-making on a global scale.
“Principles alone do not build ethical AI, people do. Through this course, UNESCO is taking the next step in its leadership on AI ethics, translating the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence into practical learning that empowers people to apply ethical principles throughout the AI lifecycle. This is how we move from shared commitments to meaningful action,” said Prof. Khaled El-Enany, Director General, UNESCO.
Dr. Lim Woo-hyung, Co-Head of LG AI Research, said: “Through UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, the international community has forged a shared consensus on what ethical AI should be; what’s missing is the practice. The real work is to carry ethics through the entire lifecycle—from product development to service operation. We hope this MOOC gives working developers and researchers the practical foundation to build a trustworthy AI ecosystem and turn responsible innovation into an industry-wide habit rather than an aspiration.”
The new course teaches learners to recognize ethical risks, weigh competing priorities, and make more informed decisions about how AI is designed, used, and governed. The program focuses on real-world applications, guided by insights from global experts at Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Toronto, the Alan Turing Institute, and more.
“UNESCO has helped define standards for responsible AI usage, and today, we’re honored to welcome UNESCO to the Coursera platform with the launch of the Global MOOC on the Ethics of AI,” said Marni Baker Stein, Chief Content Officer at Coursera. “This free course, developed with LG AI Research, will help learners and institutions around the world make more informed decisions about how AI is designed, deployed, and governed. Together, we’re expanding global access to high-quality education on one of the most important issues of our time.”
Through hands-on projects, learners will explore how to translate core concepts, including privacy, transparency, sustainability, and human autonomy, into practical decisions and policies. Available in 11 languages, the nine-hour course requires no advanced technical knowledge and is designed for learners across sectors, including university students, researchers, policymakers, and technology leaders.
Upon completion, learners will be ready to make key decisions that ensure AI is studied, built, and adopted in more responsible and equitable ways.
