Ethical Considerations and Guidelines
Ethical Considerations
³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿'s commitment to the common good will guide us in the work we do with generative artificial intelligence. It is this mindset and larger view of the world that will lead to more understanding and critical thinking around the ethics of AI.
From the environmental impact of energy-intensive training and operation to issues of bias, privacy, intellectual property, and academic integrity, the responsible development and use of of AI requires us to consider the impact on our fields of study, people, and the world.
As we critically analyze the tradeoffs of these key ethical areas and develop our own set of values, we can better position ourselves to make informed decisions about when and how to use generative AI. We can harness the power of these tools in service of the common good—both at ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ and beyond. Ultimately, engaging with generative AI in an ethically grounded manner will be crucial as these technologies become increasingly integrated into our personal, professional, and academic lives.
Institutional Guidelines
Institutional Guidelines for the Use of Generative AI Tools are posted on the IT website. Guidelines specific to teaching and learning uses are the purview of ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ faculty. Students are required to abide by faculty guidance for their courses.
Here are some key considerations to keep in mind; review the full guidelines for more details.
Protect confidential data: Note that your data can be used by these tools even if you are using a paid account. Check the terms and never enter private or sensitive data into publicly available generative AI tools. Information shared with generative AI tools using default settings is not private and will likely learn from the prompts you provide.
Review AI content carefully before publication: AI-generated content can be inaccurate, misleading, or entirely fabricated (sometimes called “hallucinations”).
Consider how AI impacts teaching and learning: Generative AI resources focused on learning and teaching can be found in the "" organization in Canvas.
Adhere to College policies, including those on academic integrity: Review the Academic Honor Code and faculty handbook for details. Faculty should be clear about their policies on permitted uses, if any, of generative AI with the students they are teaching and advising. Students are also encouraged to ask their instructors for clarification about these policies as needed.
Follow the data sharing practices and policies that were established by the Data Governance Committee: Review the Data Classification Policy; sensitive data should be used with caution. Restricted data should not be used with AI tools.
Be alert for AI-enabled phishing: Generative AI has made it easier for malicious actors to create sophisticated scams at a far greater scale. Continue to use safe computing best practices and report suspicious messages using the options outlined in the “” article.
For additional information, please contact ai@bowdoin.edu.