- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Research Guides
- Generative AI
- Ethics and Generative AI
Generative AI : Ethics and Generative AI
Guidance and resources for AI chatbots and other types of Generative AI
For all of the great potential AI has, it is also imbued with a host of new risks. AI has the potential to be the vector for a tsunami of new cybersecurity threats, including phishing attacks, spam, malware, deepfakes and embedded vulnerabilities in machine-generated code. Large language models can magnify our human failings, like xenophobia, racism, sexism, ableism, transphobia, ethnocentrism and other prejudices and biases. And many people are justifiably concerned about what advancements in AI will mean for their lives and livelihoods.
Vice Provost for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer Lois Brooks | AI has opened the door to a new world. What it looks like is up to us (July 18, 2023)
Ethical Considerations
Generative AI technology is evolving quickly and so are the ethical questions about it. These include, but are not limited to:
- Bias perpetuated in the training data and code that can harm individuals and violate human rights
- Inequitable access based on socioeconomic status, language, location, etc.
- Use of personal data and intellectual property without consent or permission
- Transparency of the use of generative AI in content creation and decision making
- Research responsibility, authorship, and copyright
- Job market impacts and unfair labor practices
- Education, learning loss, and academic integrity
- Inaccuracy and disinformation
- Environmental impacts
- Mental health
- Cybersecurity
Staying Up to Date
Voices to Follow
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AI Now InstituteIndependent research institute "equipping the field with expert analysis to challenge and reimagine the current trajectory of AI."
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Algorithmic Justice League"The Algorithmic Justice League’s mission is to raise awareness about the impacts of AI, equip advocates with empirical research, build the voice and choice of the most impacted communities, and galvanize researchers, policy makers, and industry practitioners to mitigate AI harms and biases."
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Civics of Technology (CoT)"The Civics of Technology (CoT) project aims to empower students and educators to critically inquire into the effects of technologies on their individual and collective lives. We conduct research, develop curriculum, and offer professional development. Our work seeks to advance democratic, ethical, and just uses of technology in schools and society."
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Emily M. Bender, Linguistics professor, University of WashingtonVarious news, television, and scholarly works on ethical issues of AI.
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Casey Fiesler, Information Science professor, University of Colorado BoulderResearch and news on technology ethics and law, human-computer-interaction, and online communities.
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Blood in the MachineWriting and reporting on AI, tech, labor, and power.
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Where’s Your Ed AtJournalist and generative AI critic Ed Zitron focuses on the economics of the AI boom.
Recent News
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AI Ethics and Policy NewsRegularly updated and categorized list of articles about AI ethics from University of Colorado-Boulder Information Science professor Casey Fiesler.
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How A.I. is changing the way the world builds computersDynamic news article that explains how data centers are evolving to support AI technology. (The New York Times, March 2025)
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Google’s still not giving us the full picture on AI energy use“By 2028, AI could account for 326 terawatt-hours of electricity demand in the US annually, generating over 100 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.” (MIT Technology Review, August 2025)
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Data centers are increasing in the Great Lakes at what cost?“States should be examining all large-scale water uses of groundwater, including for data centers, to determine whether they’re appropriate in a given watershed or basin and whether those uses pose enough of a threat to other nearby watersheds that the use should be avoided altogether.” (Alliance for the Great Lakes, March 2025)
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Anthropic to pay authors $1.5B to settle lawsuit over pirated chatbot training material“The landmark settlement, if approved by a judge as soon as Monday, could mark a turning point in legal battles between AI companies and the writers, visual artists and other creative professionals who accuse them of copyright infringement.” (NPR, September 2025)
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AI bots are threatening your favorite websites“A growing number of organizations, including Wikipedia, Reddit, news publishers and cultural institutions say that AI crawlers threaten the existence of websites you love." (Washington Post, July 2025)
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AI is spreading old stereotypes to new languages and cultures“When you have all of the data in one shared latent space, then semantic concepts can get transferred across languages. You're risking propagating harmful stereotypes that other people hadn't even thought of.” (Wired, April 2025)
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They Asked an A.I. Chatbot Questions. The Answers Sent Them Spiraling."Generative A.I. chatbots are going down conspiratorial rabbit holes and endorsing wild, mystical belief systems. For some people, conversations with the technology can deeply distort reality." (The New York Times, June 2025)
