As more higher education institutions deploy artificial intelligence tools, consumer advocates are calling on universities to adopt student bills of rights that declare that “students are not just data points or test subjects for emerging technologies.”
On Friday, the National Student Legal Defense Network announced the Student AI Bill of Rights as part of the Protecting Higher Education through AI Practices and Ethics (SHAPE AI) initiative. The group’s advisory board is comprised of organizational leaders, policy experts, and consumer advocates.
The preamble to the Bill of Rights states, “As artificial intelligence (AI) transforms the landscape of higher education, from recruitment and admissions to classroom instruction and comprehensive support, students face new opportunities for personalized learning and significant risks to their privacy, civil rights, and cognitive development.” “They have the right to shape their future through transparency, fairness, human oversight, privacy and security.”
The Bill of Rights contains five articles:
- Transparency and the right to “notice”: Students have a fundamental right to know when, where and how AI systems will be used to assess, track and make decisions about their educational future.
- Human Oversight and Right to Appeal: Automated systems should not be the final arbiter of high-stakes decisions that affect students’ admissions, academic standing, financial security, or other aspects of their basic well-being.
- Data sovereignty and intellectual property rights: Students retain ownership of their academic and creative work and personal data. Admission to higher education [sic] [institution] I do not consent to the commercialization of my intellectual results.
- The right of every student to use AI safely: Students have the right to an unbiased education perpetuated by automated systems.
- Right to share AI and its benefits: Higher education must prepare students to leverage AI and participate in society as informed citizens.
“All universities should affirmatively sign this Student AI Bill of Rights to demonstrate support for the fundamental principles that protect students,” Aaron Ament, president of Student Defense, said in a news release. “Transparency and oversight are key as AI is rapidly integrated into every aspect of our lives. We are encouraged by institutions’ interest in collaborating on safeguards for their students, which is core to the mission of all higher education institutions.”
