ASU program helps instructors learn how to teach students about ethical use of AI

PHOENIX — A new project from Arizona State University is encouraging educators to explore how to ethically integrate artificial intelligence into their classrooms.

The AI-Informed Writing Classroom, launched in January, brings together faculty who teach writing courses for structured conversations about using AI responsibly and navigating its rapid evolution.

Roger Thompson, director of writing programs in ASU’s English department, said the initiative aims to spark conversations about AI at both global and classroom levels.

“What we thought we’d do is try to create a space for faculty to, on the one hand discuss and engage with it, but also bring in experts so that we can explore the range of things going on … issues around environment, issues around social and cultural biases that are kind of emerging in some of the technology and issues in around kind of fair use of the technology,” he said.

What’s the goal of ASU’s new program on AI writing?

Thompson explained that the goal is to prepare teachers to address the technology with their students and meet them where they are.

“We’ll be running working groups and focus groups with students so we can hear their responses,” he said.

This work is an early step toward helping students learn to use emerging tools ethically in the workforce, he added.

“We have very savvy students on these technologies, and we already have some who have explicitly said they don’t want to be using AI in their writing classrooms,” Thompson said. “So, then, how do we approach that? Because we still want them to gain a certain degree of fluency and literacy around the tech.”

Teaching students about the ethics of AI writing is especially important, he added, since evaluating AI‑generated content and identifying credible sources can be more complex.

All ASU students must complete at least two writing courses to graduate.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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