Being Human in the Age of Generative AI: Young People's Ethical Concerns about Writing and Living with Machines

Jennifer M. Higgs; Amy Stornaiuolo

doi:10.1002/rrq.552

journal article Open Access Jun 11, 2024

Being Human in the Age of Generative AI: Young People's Ethical Concerns about Writing and Living with Machines

Jennifer M. Higgs Amy Stornaiuolo

Reading Research Quarterly Vol. 59 No. 4 pp. 632-650 · Wiley

View at Publisher Save 10.1002/rrq.552

Abstract

AbstractThe recent unveiling of chatbots such as ChatGPT has catalyzed vigorous debates about generative AI's impact on how learners read, write, and communicate. Largely missing from these debates is careful consideration of how young people are experiencing AI in their everyday lives and how they are making sense of the questions that these rapidly evolving cultural tools raise about ethics, power, and social participation. Engaging cultural‐historical perspectives on technology, the present study drew on student survey and focus group data from English language arts classes in two culturally and linguistically diverse high schools to answer the following questions: (1) How are young people using AI in their everyday lives, if at all?; (2) What do young people identify as key considerations related to AI‐mediated writing?; and (3) What ethical and critical considerations, if any, inform young people's sensemaking of and practices with AI? Young people reported using generative AI for diverse purposes in and out of school, including to accomplish routine organizational and information tasks, to entertain themselves through experimenting with AI technologies, and to catalyze their thinking and writing processes. Survey and focus group participants' responses suggested their regular navigation of ethical and critical dimensions of AI use and their contemplation of what it means to be human through and with advancing technologies. Young people also reported a lack of opportunity to examine AI practices and perspectives in school, suggesting the important role schools can play in supporting youths' development of AI ethics.

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Literacy in the Age of AI

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Metrics

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Citations

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References

Details

Published: Jun 11, 2024
Vol/Issue: 59(4)
Pages: 632-650
License: View

Authors

J

Jennifer M. Higgs

University of California, Davis Davis California USA

A

Amy Stornaiuolo

University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA

Funding

Spencer Foundation

National Academy of Education

Cite This Article

Jennifer M. Higgs, Amy Stornaiuolo (2024). Being Human in the Age of Generative AI: Young People's Ethical Concerns about Writing and Living with Machines. Reading Research Quarterly, 59(4), 632-650. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.552

Being Human in the Age of Generative AI: Young People's Ethical Concerns about Writing and Living with Machines

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