Claude Academy
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Ethics & responsible AI use

Lesson 725 min
In this lessonBy the end, you’ll be able to
  • Apply Delegation and Diligence to decisions about student data
  • Reflect on your values and identify the ethical concerns that matter most to you
  • Draft personal ethical commitments for AI use in your practice

Ethics & AI

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Ethics & responsible AI use · 10 min

SummaryTranscript

This video walks through the Delegation-Diligence loop. You'll watch Ms. Okafor, a 7th grade science teacher, use AI to help her work with data and improve her instruction. You'll see how validation and careful handling of student data can ensure AI is being used in a responsible and ethical manner.

The Delegation ↔ Diligence loop

The outer loop frames every AI interaction: you decide upfront what's right to hand off: the right task, the right tool, the right data. Afterward you take responsibility for what comes back.

DelegationDecide what's worth handing to AI in the first place.
DiligenceVerify, attribute, and own the final product.
Decide what's right to hand off.Decide upfront: the right task, tool, and data to bring to AI—and what stays with you.
Hand offOuter loopValidate
Own what comes back.Verify against what you know, be transparent about AI's role, and stand behind the result.
Quick check

You decide which parts of your data work are safe to hand to AI, and which must stay with you. Which move is that?

Key takeaways

  • Data protections like FERPA apply to AI tools. Use only district-approved tools for anything with student information.
  • Responsible AI use takes pedagogical judgment. You'll navigate gray areas policy doesn't cover.
  • Your values already guide your teaching. Connect them to AI: decide what you won't delegate and what "useful" means.
  • Ethical AI use is continuous. Revisit your commitments as students, context, and tools change.

Exercises

Articulate your ethical line as an educator

Using AI responsibly isn't just about following rules; it's about ethical judgment in the gray areas where policy gives no clear answer. Name the concerns that matter most to you and turn them into commitments you can keep.

Part I: Name the ethical tensions

Thinking about your role as an educator and the students you serve, choose one or two concerns below—or something else—that feel most important, or most unresolved, for you right now, and jot a quick note on why it matters in your context.

  • Dependency: When might reliance on AI replace thinking students need to do themselves?
  • De-socialization: When could AI displace human interaction, collaboration, or relationship-building?
  • Bias: When might AI reinforce narrow perspectives, stereotypes, or existing inequities?
  • Student agency: Who controls how AI is used: the student, the educator, or the system?
  • Equity of access: Who benefits from AI, and who may be excluded due to access or resources?
  • Environmental impact: How does the energy use, compute demand, or scale of AI systems factor into your ethical decisions?

Part II: Draft your ethical commitments

Turn the tension(s) you named into commitments and add them to your context document from The 4D Framework lesson. Keeping your chosen concern(s) in mind, complete these in your own words:

  1. To protect against that concern, I will not delegate decisions related to: (e.g., final judgment, relational feedback, high-stakes evaluation)
  2. AI is useful in my practice when it helps me or my students (e.g., practice, explore ideas, get unstuck)—without worsening the tension I named.
  3. When I'm unsure whether an AI use is ethical, I will: (e.g., pause, consult a colleague, review district guidance, pilot cautiously)

You've just drafted a personal ethical stance, something no tool can do for you. Revisit it as your students, context, and tools change.

Lesson reflection

  • What's one concrete change you'll make to how you handle data with AI—and which tools are actually approved for it?
  • Think about the data work you do most regularly: analyzing student performance, reviewing attendance, interpreting survey results. Where in that process do you think AI could genuinely help, and where do you think human judgment is too important to hand off?

What's next

In the next lesson, we'll explore how different AI models differ and you'll build a personal AI value document: the intentions, principles, and boundaries that define how you work with AI.