Some Philosophical Implications of Generative AI for Computing and Engineering Education

Authors: Roger McDermott, Mats Daniels

Abstract:
The use of artificial intelligence technologies generally, and generative AI tools in particular, raises a number of interesting questions in computing education. For example, there are axiological issues concerning the ethics of use and the aesthetic value placed on generated work in educational programmes. There are epistemological questions about what learning means in the absence of transparent processes for the acquisition of competence. There are methodological questions about what the concept of explainability means in the context of machine learning, and ontological issues with regard to the nature of the technology and how it should best be perceived by users. Many of these problems are addressed, at least partially, by empirical methods, but for a complete answer, it is also necessary to analyse the issues from a philosophical perspective.
In this presentation, we give a brief overview of some of the relevant categories of philosophical inquiry that are important to the discussion of generative AI, and suggest areas where conceptual analysis might be useful in revealing aspects of the problem that are not sufficiently addressed by more empirical means.