Karina Fitzgerald , ASU; ASU workgroup addresses ethical questions about the use of AI in higher ed
"As artificial intelligence becomes more ubiquitous in our everyday lives, the AI and Ethics Workgroup at Arizona State University's Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics is working to establish ethical guidelines and frameworks for the deployment of AI technologies.
Composed of experts from a variety of fields, the workgroup is dedicated to navigating the complex ethical challenges arising from rapid advancements in AI. The group published their first white paper earlier this month, which focuses on the use of AI tools in higher education.
The workgroup’s co-chairs are Sarah Florini, the associate director of the Lincoln Center and an associate professor of film and media studies, and Nicholas Proferes, an associate professor for ASU’s School of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Florini and Proferes shared some insights into their workgroup’s research process and their publication, “AI and Higher Education: Questions and Projections.”...
Q: What can educators and institutions start doing today to instill more responsible, ethical adoption of AI-related technologies?
Florini: Get involved and participate in the conversations surrounding these technologies. We all need to be part of the efforts to shape how they will be integrated into colleges and universities. The terrain around AI is moving quickly, and there are many stakeholders with diverging opinions about the best course of action. We all need to be developing a critical understanding of these technologies and contributing to the process of determining how they align with our values.
Proferes: Have conversations with your community. Not just your peers, but with every stakeholder who might be impacted. Create spaces for that dialogue. Map out what the collective core values you want to achieve with the technology are, and then develop policies and procedures that can help support that.
But also, be willing to revisit these conversations. Very often with tech development, ethics is treated as a checkbox, rather than an ongoing process of reflection and consideration. Living wisely with technology requires phronesis, or practical wisdom. That’s something that’s gained over time through practice. Not a one-and-done deal."
