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Use of Artificial Intelligence:

Ethical & Legal Issues

Timothy Odom

BUSN311 B002 Winter 2026

American Public University

Professor Wynne

January 18, 2026

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Introduction/Overview

Use Of AI In Universities And Work Settings:

-Universities:

-Collegiate administration efficiency

-Faculty course content creation

-Personalized student learning

-Student support

(“Ai in Schools: Pros and Cons.”)

-Work Settings:

-Automation to increase productivity

-Content and marketing creation

-Data analysis

-Customer service

-Human resources and recruitment

-Career services

(Grubb)

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Rules Of The University

AI Deemed As Cheating:

-Generating content

-Purchasing & sharing test solutions

-Wrongful reuse

-Collaborating on exams or assignments

-Doing work for another person

(APUS)

AI Deemed As Plagiarism:

-Another’s ideas without attribution

-Writings of another

-Weak paraphrasing

-Same sentence structure and change a

few words

(APUS)

AI Deemed As Cheating:

-Inappropriate use of AI to generate content as defined by course instructions.

-Purchasing test solutions and sharing test solutions in a public area.

-Wrongful reuse of work.

-Collaborating on an exam or assignment with any other person or AI provider without prior approval from the

instructor.

-Doing academic work for another person and allowing that person to represent the work as their own.

AI Deemed As Plagiarism:

-The adoption or incorporation of another’s ideas without proper attribution of the source.

-Taking the writings of another person or people or content generated by an AI provider and representing them to be

one’s own.

-Text mining, defined as weak paraphrasing or combining content from other authors whereby the ideas of the

original author(s) are not clearly or formally documented.

-To keep the same sentence structure and change a few words without providing proper attribution of the source.

-To avoid plagiarism, all should follow the accepted practices of academic writing when summarizing, paraphrasing,

and quoting.

Importance:

-These updates are important for students to understand so that they don’t accidentally perform an AI violation

within their academic work.

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Professional Writing

-Establish authority

-Build trust with one’s audience

-Ensure accurate information is being passed

along

-Avoid plagiarism

-Give credit to original sources

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Legal & Ethical Analysis

Ways We Can Safely Use AI:

-Grammar Checks & Editing

-Improving Clarity / Flow Of Writing

-Brainstorming / Idea Generation

-Data Analysis

-Explore Different Perspectives

(Russo)

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Conclusion & Recommendations

-Not worth the risk legally or ethically

-Cheating themselves of critically analyzing and

creating

-Infringement on fundamental human rights

and privacy

-”Deepfakes” (“Should AI Be Regulated? The

Arguments for and Against.”)

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References

“Ai in Schools: Pros and Cons.” College of Education, College of Education at Illinois, education.illinois.edu/about/news-events/news/article/2024/10/24/ai-in-schools--pros-and-cons#:~:text=Just%20a%20few%20examples%20are,develop%20as%20thinkers%20and%20learners. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.
“Should AI Be Regulated? The Arguments for and Against.” WeAreDevelopers, www.wearedevelopers.com/en/magazine/271/eu-ai-regulation-artificial-intelligence-regulations. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.
Apus,myclassroom.apus.edu/d2l/le/enhancedSequenceViewer/44515?redirect=true&url=https://f54cbe36-23a9-4505-85fe-e251f80ec34d.sequences.api.brightspace.com/44515/activity/5034975?filterOnDatesAndDepth%3D1. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.
Dr. Charles M. Russo, PhD. “Guide for Doctoral Students: Ethical Use of Generative AI Tools in Dissertation Research and Writing.” LinkedIn, 8 Feb. 2025, www.linkedin.com/pulse/guide-doctoral-students-ethical-use-generative-ai-tools-russo-phd-btouc
Kevin Grubb | Associate Vice Provost of Career and Professional Development, Villanova University. “Navigating the AI Wave in Higher Education and the Workforce.” The EvoLLLution, Modern Campus, 3 Apr. 2024, evolllution.com/navigating-the-ai-wave-in-higher-education-and-the-workforce#:~:text=Harnessing%20AI%20in%20Higher%20Education,harnessing%20AI’s%20potential%20for%20good.