Ethics and Artificial Intelligence in Education

 Artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly present in the educational context, with applications ranging from content recommendation systems to virtual learning assistants. Despite the benefits of this technology, its development and application must be guided by ethical principles in order to ensure that its impact is positive for both teachers and students.

Ethical theories and principles for AI in education

Various ethical theories can be applied in the context of educational AI, such as deontology, which is based on moral duties and obligations, and consequentialism, which evaluates actions according to their consequences. (Jobin et al., 2019). Moreover, the ethics of virtues, which emphasizes the development of morally desirable characteristics, can also contribute to the ethical analysis of AI in education.

Based on these theories, researchers have proposed fundamental ethical principles for the development and use of AI in education, such as (Zawacki-Richter et al., 2019; Holmes et al. 2019):

1. Transparency and explainability: AI models must be understandable and their decisions must be justifiable.

2. Equity and inclusion: AI should be developed in such a way as to avoid bias and ensure equitable access for all students.

3. Privacy and security: Students' data should be protected and the use of AI should not compromise privacy.

4. Human control: Teachers and students must maintain control over learning processes, with AI acting as a support tool.

5. Charity: the use of AI in education should aim at the well-being and integral development of students.

Application of ethics in educational AI

In practice, the application of these ethical principles requires actions such as (Popenici & Kerr, 2017; Holmes et al., 2019):

- Engage ethics experts in the development of educational AI systems.

- Conduct rigorous tests to identify and mitigate biases in training data and AI models.

- Ensure the transparency and explicability of AI systems so that teachers and students can understand them.

- Implement strict data protection and student privacy policies.

- Training teachers so that they can use AI consciously and critically, whileining control over the teaching-learning processes.

The use of artificial intelligence in education presents great opportunities, but also significant ethical challenges. It is essential that the development and application of this technology be guided by sound ethical principles in order to ensure that educational AI systems are beneficial and aligned with the values and objectives of education. An interdisciplinary approach, involving experts in ethics, education and AI, is essential to address this complex issue.

Learn more:

Holmes, W., Bialik, M., & Fadel, C. (2019). Artificial Intelligence in Education: Promises and Implications for Teaching and Learning. Center for Curriculum Redesign.

Jobin, A., Ienca, M., & Vayena, E. (2019). The global landscape of AI ethics guidelines. Nature Machine Intelligence, 1(9), 389-399.

Popenici, S. A., & Kerr, S. (2017). Exploring the impact of artificial intelligence on teaching and learning in higher education. Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning, 12(1), 1-13.

Zawacki-Richter, O., Marín, V. I., Bond, M., & Gouverneur, F. (2019). Systematic review of research on artificial intelligence applications in higher education–where are the educators?. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 16(1), 39.