3.6. AI Literacy as an Ethical Practice
Jace Hargis
AI literacy is more than knowing how to use tools like ChatGPT or Midjourney. It is also about understanding the social, ethical, and cultural contexts in which AI operates. To be literate is to read, interpret, and critique—not just to consume. In the same way, AI literacy is an ethical practice: it asks us to notice power, fairness, transparency, and accountability whenever we use or teach with AI.
Defining AI Literacy
Scholars often define AI literacy as the ability to understand, use, and evaluate AI systems (Long & Magerko, 2020). But ethical AI literacy goes further. It combines technical fluency with reflective judgment:
- Understand: how AI systems work, their limitations, and their data foundations.
- Use: apply AI tools effectively and responsibly in practice.
- Evaluate: question whether an AI tool promotes fairness, accountability, and transparency.
Ethical Dimensions of AI Literacy
Practicing AI literacy ethically means more than technical competence. It requires cultivating:
- Critical use: recognizing both the strengths and limits of AI outputs.
- Transparency: disclosing when AI has been used in teaching, grading, or professional work.
- Bias awareness: noticing when training data or outputs reflect systemic inequities (Jobin, Ienca, & Vayena, 2019).
- Equity: ensuring that access to AI tools does not deepen existing divides among students or colleagues.
đź“– Analogy: Reading Between the Lines (click to expand)
Learning to read is not just about pronouncing words. True literacy means recognizing tone, context, and what the text leaves unsaid. AI literacy works the same way. It is not enough to know which button to click or which prompt to type. Ethical AI literacy means reading between the lines—asking who built this system, whose data it represents, and what assumptions it encodes.
AI Literacy in Action
Faculty and staff model ethical AI literacy by how they use and talk about AI. Practices include:
- Explaining to students when and why AI tools are used in teaching or assessment.
- Encouraging citation of AI tools when students use them for writing or brainstorming (APA citation guidance).
- Highlighting both the benefits and the risks of AI in professional development workshops.
- Asking students to reflect on when using AI aligns—or conflicts—with their own values.
đź“š Weekly Reflection Journal
Reflection Prompt:
- How is AI literacy different from digital literacy or information literacy?
- What risks emerge if we treat AI literacy as purely technical and not ethical?
- How could ethical AI literacy become part of your institution’s culture?
Quick Self-Check
Identify which practices reflect ethical AI literacy.
