By: Kris Joyce

Is using AI in college ethical? Ethics is your moral duty to know between right and wrong and the study of what is good and bad. Can you maintain academic integrity while using AI? 

AI is not necessarily ethical or unethical by the definition of ethics. However, based on how the student uses it will determine rather or not it is ethical. A junior college student, Sara Tibbs stated, “I think AI in college can be both ethical and unethical, depending on how it’s used.”

Many students use AI in college for many reasons. Such as studying, research, and problem solving. “I use AI for brainstorming ideas or creating a study guide,” Tibbs stated. Another reason students can use AI is for tutoring. Intelligent Tutoring can help students learn how to problem solve and how to study. Intelligent Tutoring adapts to each student’s learning style in real time. 

Also, AI can help with homework and assignments. “I use AI a lot. It gives me security in my assignments because I can ask it to “grade” my work and give feedback on areas I might want to improve before submitting,” Tibbs said. When AI grades a students work it is evaluated by AI tools to analyze the text and provide constructive criticism to help the student improve their work. The feedback AI gives can help students improve their weaknesses and strengthen their course work, by identifying areas for improvement.

Although, there is good with using AI, there is also bad. Some students will use it for cheating. “Some students will use AI to get answers on a test or to do an assignment for you, as that counts as academic dishonesty,” said Tibbs. 

When AI is used to violate academic integrity then this is when it becomes unethical. When AI generates work and a student uses it as their own, that is lying and falsifying information. Plagiarism is the act of taking someone else’s work and presenting it as your own. This is academic dishonesty and morally wrong and considered unethical. 

How the student uses AI will determine if it is ethical or unethical. It is the student’s moral duty to know between right and wrong. “I think whether AI is ethical really depends on how you’re using it,” Tibbs said. 

Ethics is your moral duty to know between right and wrong and the study of what is good and bad. So, how you use AI will determine if it is ethical and unethical.

Photo by: Kris Joyce