As more higher education institutions adopt artificial intelligence tools, consumer protection advocates are asking colleges and universities to adopt a student bill of rights declaring that “students are not merely data points or test subjects for emerging technologies.”
On Friday, the National Student Legal Defense Network unveiled the Student AI Bill of Rights as part of its Safeguarding Higher-Ed through AI Practices & Ethics (SHAPE AI) initiative. The group’s advisory committee is composed of institutional leaders, policy experts and consumer advocates.
“As artificial intelligence (AI) transforms the landscape of higher education—from recruitment and admissions to classroom instruction and wraparound support—students face new opportunities for personalized learning and significant risks to their privacy, civil rights, and cognitive development,” the preamble to the Bill of Rights reads. “They are entitled to shape their own futures through transparency, fairness, human oversight, privacy, and safety.”
The Bill of Rights includes the following five articles:
- The right to Transparency and “Notice”: Students have the fundamental right to know when, where and how AI systems are being used to evaluate them, track them or make decisions about their educational future.
- The Right to Human Oversight and Appeal: Automated systems should not be the final arbiter of high-stakes decisions affecting a student’s admission, academic standing, financial stability or other aspects of fundamental well-being.
- The Right to Data Sovereignty and Intellectual Property: Students retain ownership of their academic and creative work and personal data. Enrollment in a higher education [sic] [institution] does not constitute consent to the commercialization of one’s intellectual output.
- The Right of All Students to Safely Use AI: Students have a right to an education free from bias perpetuated by automated systems.
- The Right to Share in AI and Its Benefits: Higher education must prepare students to work with AI and to participate in society as informed citizens.
“Every college and university should be willing to sign onto this Student AI Bill of Rights to show they support these basic principles to protect students,” Aaron Ament, president of Student Defense, said in a news release. “At a time when AI is being rapidly incorporated into every aspect of our lives, transparency and oversight are key. We’ve been encouraged by institutional interest in aligning on safeguards for students, who are core to the mission of all higher education institutions.”
