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Generative Artificial Intelligence

This guide provides information on Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools and best practices for using them for students and faculty.

Ethical Considerations of AI

What is Copyright?

Copyright is a basic constitutional right afforded to all citizens. The constitution states that the government shall provide "for limited times authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries." The right provided is essentially a bundle of permissions allowing the owner the ability to control who can sell, copy, distribute, translate, edit, and perform your works. 

Is Generative AI Stealing from Creators? 

AI generated tools have been trained on material scraped from web pages without the consent or knowledge of the web page owners. Because of this, several lawsuits claim that the use of artists' or writers' content, without permissions, to train generative AI is an infringement of copyright. You can find a comprehensive list of such lawsuits compiled by The George Washington University here. 

 

There is currently a lack of consensus around just how much impact GenAI has on the environment. Some writers claim that initial estimations of GenAI's energy consumption were either exaggerated or as yet remain unclear, while others assert that the impact grow as tools become more widely adopted and powerful. 

However, what we do know for certain: GenAI developments will continue to exert pressure on fossil fuel extraction, require vast amounts of water for cooling data centers, and contribute to a global e-waste crisis. 

The following list of articles is not exhaustive, but will provide some perspective on the issue: 

Consider asking yourself the following when considering using any GenAI tools in order to minimize the environmental impacts: 

  • Do I need an AI, or can I do this myself? 
  • Can I use just a search engine instead? Or maybe even consult a professional (i.e. subject matter expert, librarian, instructor) 
  • Will I be able to re-use what I've created with an AI? 
  • Who benefits? Who might bear the costs? 

Ethical issues surrounding the creation and adoption of GenAi present challenges to users. Be aware of these social and political harms associated with this developing technology and then decide how you will engage with it. 

  • Misinformation: It's likely that GenAI will contribute to growing misinformation because of its inability to fact-check itself and its tendency to create fabrications or "hallucinations." 
  • Gender, racial, other biases: Because AI tools are trained on data that contain inherent biases, the output will perpetuate these same biases, further harming marginalized communities. Not to mention, the more information you feed the AI tool you use, the more you're training it for yourself, automatically making it a flawed, biased system. 
  • Literacy and Critical Thinking: With overreliance and a lack of understanding around the proper usage of AI, essential skills like literacy, critical thinking, and overall general social behavior could be greatly impacted in a negative way. 
  • Ghost labor: As social media platforms did before them, AI companies have outsourced the labor of manually removing illegal and offensive content, usually low-paid contractors in the Global South. 
  • Privacy: Companies may require users to submit data and accept terms of use that put personal information at risk. 

Here are a few articles about some potentially harmful social impacts of Gen AI, as well as some tips on how you can protect yourself.

Harm Considerations