Skip to main content
Markkula Center for Applied Ethics

Generative AI Ethics


Generative Artificial Intelligence including text, computer generated images.Photo: "Artificial Intelligence" by Just_Super/Getty Images Signature

Throughout history, new technologies have disrupted society in different ways–some positively and some negatively–from steam-powered engines and electricity, to the Internet, and now again with artificial intelligence (AI); generative AI in particular in this instance. The creation of art, journalism, education, and the very truth itself have all been tested by the use of ChatGPT and other generative AIs. Markkula Center staff and scholars unpack some of the many related ethical dilemmas in this Ethics Spotlight.


Perspectives

 

Ethical Questions about Generative AI 

By Don Heider (@donheider), executive director, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. 

News and social media in recent days have been filled with opinions on generative artificial intelligence (AI), including ChatGPT, raising questions about the ethics of its use. There are many, and they need to be considered before its use.

Generative AI and a More Human Education, Part 1: Art

By Brian Patrick Green, director of technology ethics, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. 

With the rise of generative AI, mere text or art is no longer good enough. What is needed now are text and art that are truly human, and that requires knowing what it means to be truly human.

Generative AI and a More Human Education, Part 2: Text

By Brian Patrick Green, director of technology ethics, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. 

While AI art generators might put art courses at risk and harm artists, AI text generators have the ability to ruin a wide swath of evaluation methods that much of our global educational system relies upon.

Rise of ChatGPT Highlights Need for Ethics Curriculum

By Sarah Cabral, senior scholar, business ethics, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.

The rise of ChatGPT and other generative AIs are causing schools to revisit academic integrity policies–it’s time we start teaching students why integrity matters in the first place.

A Moral Panic: ChatGPT and the Gamification of Education

By Susan Kennedy, faculty scholar, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, assistant professor, School of Philosophy, Santa Clara University.

It is not the ability to cheat with ChatGPT that jeopardizes education, rather the increasing desire to cheat fueled by the gamification of education.

Creative Machines: The Rise of Generative AI and its Impact on Human Creativity

By Maya Ackerman (@ackermanmaya), faculty scholar, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, assistant professor, Santa Clara University department of Computer Science and Engineering. She is also CEO/co-founder, musical AI startup, WaveAI. 

Developed and managed responsibly, generative AI can be used to expand our creative capabilities and push the boundaries of what is possible.

The Ethics of AI Applications for Mental Health Care

By Thomas Plante, Ph.D., ABPP (@ThomasPlante) Augustin Cardinal Bea, SJ professor of psychology, Santa Clara University, faculty scholar, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics and adjunct clinical professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Mental health applications using artificial intelligence could become a boon to treating more people and in a more affordable and convenient way, but ethically we need to be sure that adequate research is conducted to examine their effectiveness.

How Must Journalists and Journalism View Generative AI? 

By Subramaniam Vincent (@subbuvincent), director of journalism & media ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics 

Should the news media industry use Generative AI for journalistic writing?

ChatGPT and the World of Large Language Models: Bigger and Cuter?

By Sanjiv R. Das, William and Janice Terry Professor of Finance, Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business, faculty scholar, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.

What ChatGPT has convincingly done is unleash and unlock writing ability for many who struggle with it, enabling us to better express ourselves, for better or for worse.

ChatGPT and the Ethics of Deployment and Disclosure

By Irina Raicu, director of the Internet Ethics program (@IEthics) at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. 

In its recent decision to release ChatGPT into the wild, OpenAI seems to have failed to consider students and educators among the stakeholders who would be impacted by the text-generating technology.

Guidelines for the Ethical Use of Generative AI (i.e. ChatGPT) on Campus

By Nnenna Uche ’23, Sean Grame ’24, Callie O’Neill ’23, & Kailyn Pedersen ’23, all 2022-23 Hackworth Fellows and members of the Campus Ethics team at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.

In its recent decision to release ChatGPT into the wild, OpenAI seems to have failed to consider students and educators among the stakeholders who would be impacted by the text-generating technology.

 

Related Resources

 

Can AI Be Sexist?

By Tracy Seipel, associate director, storytelling, University Marketing and Communications, Santa Clara University.

Santa Clara team identifies male “brilliance bias” in world’s top AI robowriter. Next step: Solving the problem.

 

Media Commentary

Brian Green, director of technology ethics, quoted by NBC Bay Area.
Irina Raicu, director, internet ethics, quoted by Daily Beast.
Brian Green, director, technology ethics,​​ interviewed by KCBS Radio.
Irina Raicu, director, internet ethics, quoted by Lifewire.
Irina Raicu, director, internet ethics, quoted by Laptop Magazine.
Brian Green, director, technology ethics, quoted by FiveThirtyEight.

 

Feb 6, 2023
--

Make a Gift to the Ethics Center

Content provided by the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics is made possible, in part, by generous financial support from our community. With your help, we can continue to develop materials that help people see, understand, and work through ethical problems.