At the invitation of the Information Management and Information Systems major of ECUST School of Business, Prof. Hock-Hai Teo from the National University of Singapore (NUS) delivered a special course titled "AI Ethics and Governance: Foundations, Frameworks, and Cases" to students from Class 2501 (Management Science), Class 2502 (Management Science), Class 240 (Information Management), and Class 230 (Information Management) of the School.
Prof. Hock-Hai Teo is Lecturing
In the course, Prof. Hock-Hai Teo systematically taught how to transform ethical principles into an operable governance system covering the entire lifecycle of artificial intelligence (AI). The course was developed from three core dimensions: technology, policy, and cases, aiming to help students and researchers build systematic capabilities in responsible AI implementation. Prof. Teo first clarified that AI systems are essentially "socio-technical" complexes, and their trustworthiness must be built on multiple practical dimensions such as effectiveness, safety, transparency, privacy protection, and fairness. He guided participants to systematically understand the globally adopted governance foundations by relying on the OECD AI Principles, the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, and the ISO/IEC 42001 international standard. The course emphasized the dynamic connection between governance frameworks and policy practices. Prof. Hock-Hai Teo analyzed the risk-based regulatory approach of the EU AI Act, as well as Singapore's "Model AI Governance Framework" and AI Verify Toolkit for generative AI, helping participants grasp global policy evolution trends and regional governance logics.
In the case study session, the course covered multiple real-world scenarios including recruitment, criminal justice, facial recognition, employment screening, generative image disputes, privacy law enforcement, and public sector profiling. Students engaged in group discussions to analyze the damage pathways in these cases, learn to design corresponding mitigation mechanisms and governance interventions, and presented their research results through PPT reports.
Prof. Hock-Hai Teo emphasized that "responsible AI is not static compliance, but a process of continuous assurance and system interoperability." At the end of the course, the focus was on how to build a transparent governance process within organizations with clear roles, controllable risks, and traceable evidence, enabling ethical principles to be truly transformed into an operable and auditable practice system.
In the Q&A session, Prof. Hock-Hai Teo conducted in-depth and insightful interactions with the students, addressing their concerns one by one around the multi-dimensional challenges arising from the practical application of AI.
Q&A Session
The entire class was marked by a lively interactive atmosphere. Prof. Hock-Hai Teo combined theoretical principles with practical issues in a simple and understandable way, further strengthening the core theme of the course and inspiring students to conduct in-depth exploration and reflection on AI governance.
About the Speaker
Hock-Hai Teo is a Provost's Chair Prof. in the Department of Information Systems and Analytics at the NUS School of Computing. He is currently leading three key projects: 1) Optimizing processes through medical Internet of Things (IoT) to enhance healthcare service models and outcomes; 2) Shaping the innovation capabilities of Singapore's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the digital economy era; 3) Optimizing the delivery of teaching content and competency development through adaptive and customized learning platforms to improve student learning outcomes.
Prof. Hock-Hai Teo currently serves as Director of Humanities and Social Sciences Research in the Office of the Vice President (Research and Technology) at NUS. Previously, he held positions as Associate Dean (Corporate Communications) of the School of Computing and Head of the Department of Information Systems. During his tenure as Department Head, he successfully enhanced the department's local and international visibility and reputation. Today, the department has become one of the most productive research units in the global field of information systems and analytics. With strong support from government agencies, he assisted the school in establishing the Institute of Strategic Technology Management and the Centre for Health Informatics as platforms for industry collaboration and executive education, and launched the world's first Bachelor of Business Analytics program to meet industry demand for data science talents. For his outstanding contributions to research, teaching, and service in the field of information systems, he was awarded the Fellow of the Association for Information Systems (AIS).
Prof. Hock-Hai Teo holds a PhD in Information Systems, a Master of Computer and Information Science, and a Bachelor's degree from the National University of Singapore. He also pursued postdoctoral studies as a visiting scholar at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. His research results have been published in top academic journals such as MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, Management Science, Journal of Management Information Systems, Journal of Association of Information Systems, International Journal of Information Management, Information & Management, and Academy of Management Proceedings.