Elucidating Boundaries on Ethical AI Use in Higher Education: Synthesizing Governance and AI Literacy

Abstract: GenAI has contributed to significant confusion in higher education as to its appropriate or ethical uses, implications for academic integrity, and the responsibility for developing AI literacy. As universities develop AI strategies, responsibilities are often delegated to individual instructors and units in ways that support academic freedom and creativity, but lead to extraordinary diversity of practices. As a result, students are faced with challenges quite distinct from other facets of academic integrity, as they generally must reconcile conflicting expectations across courses without general educational support to develop core AI literacy competencies. In this talk, Dr. Madelyn Rose Sanfilippo will discuss how her research critically evaluating and comparing university AI policies has informed her own policies and practices in the classroom, as well as the need for greater normative consensus and institutional coordination.