These activity prompts, all written by Traci Gardner, help students explore ethical considerations related to AI in writing. Through structured online discussions, students critically examine the impact of AI on communication, reflecting on its implications in various professional contexts.
Each prompt is written so that I (Traci) can slot them into my Canvas course. You can remove the instructions if they do not fit your situation. Additionally, the ethical scenarios can all be used in the face-to-face classroom as full class or small-group discussion starters.
My goal in writing so many was to cover a range of ways that AI and ethics intersect, but there is overlap among the categories and scenarios. I would never use all of these in a single course. Instead, I would pick those that are relevant to the issues that I want to discuss.
Currently, the discussions are hosted on another site that I manage. Eventually, I will copy them over to this site. In the meantime, I want them to be available as a part of this collection.
Key Features of These Ethical Discussions
- Ethical Reflection
- Encourages students to articulate their thoughts on AI’s role in ethical decision-making within professional writing.
- Discussion Facilitation
- Develops students’ ability to lead and participate in meaningful discussions on complex topics related to writing and technology.
- Writing Practice
- Reinforces writing skills by requiring clear, concise, and persuasive argumentation in students’ reflections and discussions.
The Ethical Discussion Prompts
- Your Code of Ethics
- What policies and standards does your intended profession suggest for writing, including the use of generative AI? Students identify their own codes, compare them to policies for other members of their group, and create an interdisciplinary code of ethics that will guide their work. This first discussion is referred to in all of the other prompts, as students need to learn to situate their ethical decisions within the expectations for their career fields.
| If you want to discuss . . . | Try this scenario . . . |
|---|---|
| Accessibility | Accessibility and AI Text Generation in the Workplace Mateo, a tech writer, must ensure AI-generated documents are accessible for all users. How will he balance efficiency and inclusivity? |
| Accuracy and Reliability | Technical Accuracy and the Use of AI An AI-generated software update caused all Windows machines with the software installed to crash on start-up. How can the company restore the public confidence in their products? |
| Algorithmic Accountability | Algorithmic Accountability and AI in Software Development A leading cybersecurity firm uses advanced AI algorithms to generate software code, but recent incidents have raised concerns about tracking changes and accountability for decisions made by AI algorithms. |
| Autonomy of Technical Writers | Balancing AI Efficiency with Writer Autonomy Should a company shift to AI for all documentation to save money and increase efficiency? Opponents share concerns about the accuracy and clarity, the loss of the team’s unique writing style, and job security for human members of the team. |
| Biased Language | Bias in AI-Generated Text After a few months of using generative AI, writers notice that some documents contain subtle biases, stereotypes, and occasionally discriminatory language. How should they proceed? |
| Cultural Sensitivity | Cultural Sensitivity in AI-Generated Images To save money, a company uses AI models to generate images for its marketing and technical content. How can it ensure that the images are diverse and culturally sensitive? |
| Deep Fakes | AI Misuse in Deep Fake Technology How should a company respond to the misuse of its AI technology in creating deep fake videos? |
| Digital Divide | Equitable Access to AI Only full-time employees have access to AI-generation tools at an aerospace engineering firm. How can part-time employees and interns argue that they should have access too? |
| Emotional Labor | AI and Emotional Communication with Clients An AI bot has recently mishandled several emotionally-charged messages from clients concerned about delays, cost overruns, and safety. What can the firm do to ensure clients are happy and that AI handles emotional messages more empathetically? |
| Emotional Manipulation | Prompt Engineering and Emotional Manipulation Improper prompt engineering has led to misleading content that has misled clients, employees, and the public. What’s the solution? |
| Environmental Impact | The Environmental Impact of AI Environmental advocacy groups and concerned customers are questioning the carbon footprint and energy use associated with the AI models used by a local company. What should the company do to address the concerns? |
| Error in AI Transcription | AI Use in Medical Transcription The current AI-transcription system is not meeting the needs of doctors or patients. What should the physicians propose to ensure accurate and equitable patient records? |
| Ethical Use of Training Data | AI and Intellectual Property Rights During a routine review, a data analyst discovers that a significant portion of the content used for training the AI has been obtained without proper licensing or permission from the original creators. What should she do? |
| Fact-Checking | AI for Scientific Fact-Checking What standards should be established for the use of AI in fact-checking and reviewing scientific publications? How would you rank the options? |
| Job Displacement | Workforce Changes During AI Adoption Cycles AI can generate content faster and at a lower cost than human writers. Is it ethical to stop renewing the contracts of many of current employees and replace them with AI? |
| Misuse of AI | The Ethical Dilemma of AI and the Absent Team Member A team member has unexpectedly gone missing, and no one else at the company has the specific subject area knowledge needed to write a user manual for a submersible. Can AI solve the problem? |
| Monitoring with AI | AI-Driven Social Media Monitoring Anyone can say anything on social media, so the savvy company needs to monitor and respond to comments quickly. What should they tell the public about their use of AI to find and track messages? |
| Ownership of AI-Generated Content | Ownership Disputes Over AI-Generated Content Who Owns AI-Created Content? An app developer who uses AI to generate documentation receives an email from a technical writer who claims his documentation has been copied illegally. |
| Privacy and Confidentiality | AI and Data Privacy in Customer Chat A new AI response chatbot has customers demanding more transparency and assurance that their privacy is being protected. What can the company do to convince customers their personal information is safe? |
| Quality Control | AI and Quality Standards in Documentation An advanced AI system helps create and manage technical specifications and programming instructions. Now the system recommends that it rewrite sections of a manual to improve clarity and streamline information based on user feedback data. Should it be trusted? |
| Responsibility for Harm | Ethical Reporting When AI Fails When an AI-powered autonomous vehicle crashes, who is to blame: the developers for the software flaw, the vehicle owners for not understanding the AI’s limitations, or the manufacturer for deploying the technology without exhaustive safety checks? |
| Security Risks | AI and Security Risks in Venue Analysis An AI system that evaluates event venues for a security company has overlooked vulnerabilities in areas immediately adjacent to the event locations. What should the company do to ensure safety at the events? |
| Surveillance | AI in Law Enforcement Surveillance Local law enforcement officers are using AI surveillance to monitor activities at local businesses, schools, and parks. What should they tell the public about their use of AI? |
| Transparency and Disclosure | AI Disclosure in Agency Communication Before implementing Copilot, a communications team considers the implications of using AI to generate and revise messages. Should they disclose the use of AI to donors and stakeholders? |
| User Trust | User Trust in AI-Driven Trading Systems An AI-driven trading system has raised skepticism among employees concerned about its reliability and transparency. How can they best discuss the issue with one another—and how should they update the firm’s executives? |