AI Ethics

The use of chatbots equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) in educational settings has increased in recent years, showing potential to support teaching and learning. However, their adoption has raised concerns about academic integrity, students' ability to problem-solve independently, and potential underlying biases. To better understand students' perspectives on these benefits and risks, a survey was conducted at a large public university in the United States, collecting 262 responses from undergraduate students. Through thematic analysis, students' perceived benefits and risks of AI chatbots in education were identified and categorized into themes. The results identified perceived benefits related to feedback and study support, instructional capabilities, and access to information. Students also expressed concerns about academic integrity, information accuracy, loss of critical thinking skills, and overreliance on AI, alongside ethical issues involving data privacy, system bias, environmental impact, and the preservation of human interaction. While student perceptions align with previously discussed benefits of AI in education, they also highlight concerns about distinguishing between human- and AI-generated work and the broader ethical implications of these technologies. To address students' concerns regarding academic integrity and information reliability, institutions can establish clear policies regarding AI use and develop curricula around AI literacy. With these in place, practitioners can effectively develop and implement educational systems that leverage AI's potential in areas such as immediate feedback and personalized learning support. This approach can enhance the quality of students' educational experiences while preserving the integrity of the learning process with AI.

This paper explores the development of an ethical guardrail framework for AI systems, emphasizing the importance of customizable guardrails that align with diverse user values and underlying ethics. We address the challenges of AI ethics by proposing a structure that integrates rules, policies, and AI assistants to ensure responsible AI behavior, while comparing the proposed framework to the existing state-of-the-art guardrails. By focusing on practical mechanisms for implementing ethical standards, we aim to enhance transparency, user autonomy, and continuous improvement in AI systems. Our approach accommodates ethical pluralism, offering a flexible and adaptable solution for the evolving landscape of AI governance. The paper concludes with strategies for resolving conflicts between ethical directives, underscoring the present and future need for robust, nuanced and context-aware AI systems.

She Works, He Works is an interdisciplinary project that combines feminist visual theory, AI critique, and artistic practice to examine gender representation in AI-generated imagery. By juxtaposing text-to-image outputs of male and female construction workers, it reveals how societal biases manifest in generative AI systems. The study employs critically crafted prompts that blend traditionally gendered traits with unconventional contexts, exposing disparities in representation-emphasizing aesthetics and agility for women versus authority and professionalism for men. Grounded in Griselda Pollock's feminist insights on visual culture, the project positions AI as both a technological and cultural actor, capable of perpetuating stereotypes and enabling critique. As both a study and an artwork, the project underscores the transformative potential of AI to reimagine gender norms and inspire equitable narratives. It highlights the ethical implications of AI in creative industries, calling for transparent practices, diverse datasets, and reflexive engagement with AI's cultural impact. Through its integration of critical analysis and artistic exploration, She Works, He Works contributes to broader discussions on inclusive AI development and the role of art in fostering societal change. This dual approach showcases the power of AI as a medium for critique and a tool for envisioning more just and inclusive futures.