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Andrea Nicholson

December 12, 2023

EDG 6305: Legal and Ethical Principles

Dr. Brooke Dickison

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My future role is in the field of instructional design for business. The audience for the legal guide is stakeholders who are concerned with upholding legal and ethical issues in the business. I chose generative AI for my topic because it is one of the main issues at the forefront of instructional design. Generative AI is rapidly developing across all fields, including education and instructional design. It is important to understand the ethics and unintended consequences of using this technology.

Instructional designers can use generative AI to create written and visual content, storyboards, brainstorm ideas, instructor guides, and other time-saving options (Stone, 2023). However, generated materials can contain copyrighted, sensitive, private, and incorrect information (Stone, 2023). This is an ethical issue because by using generative AI, instructional designers may inadvertently create materials that they do not have permission to use or that are misinformed.

Stone, T. (2023, July 6). How generative AI will forever change the role of instructional designers. I4CP. https://www.i4cp.com/productivity-blog/how-generative-ai-will-forever-change-the-role-of-instructional-designers

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The federal agency that governs copyright infringement is the U.S. Copyright Office (Copyright.gov, n.d.). The U.S. Copyright Office is currently investigating copyright laws concerning generative AI, including in training materials, as of this year (Copyright.gov, n.d.a). The U.S. Copyright Office is headed by the Register of Copyrights, who reports to the Librarian of Congress (Copyright.gov, n.d.b).

I have learned that generative AI is already becoming a concern at the federal level and the U.S. Copyright Office is investigating how AI is impacting copyright infringement.

Copyright.gov (n.d.a). Copyright and artificial intelligence. https://www.copyright.gov/ai/

Copyright.gov b (n.d.b). Leadership. https://www.copyright.gov/about/leadership/

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Slide 3: Federal and State Constitutional Laws

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Slide 3: Federal and State Constitutional Laws

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Federal: 17 U.S.C. § 107 outlines copyright laws. Chapter 5, specifically, outlines cases of copyright infringement and penalties (17 U.S.C §§501-513). Violation of the Copyright Act of 1976 may result in punishments including destroying copyrighted material, fines ranging from $200-$150,000, damages for lost income to the original author, and paying for attorney fees for the original author (17 U.S.C. §§ 503-505). If the copyright infringement was for business or monetary gain, copyrighted material was above $1000, or if copyrighted material was distributed to the public, it could carry criminal charges (17 U.S.C. § 506). This impacts instructional design because as AI becomes more widely used, designers will have to be careful not to use copyrighted materials that AI may generate. Designers who do not use AI carefully may face legal penalties.

17 U.S.C. § 107. https://codes.findlaw.com/us/title-17-copyrights/17-usc-sect-107/

17 U.S.C §§501-513. https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title17/chapter5&edition=prelim

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Federal statute: 18 U.S.C § 1832 outlines the theft, use, copying, and sharing of trade secrets without the organization’s permission (18 U.S.C § 1832). This is relevant because any information inputted into an AI program is saved by the AI and can be generated for other purposes. For example, if an instructional designer inputs information that contains trade secrets into an AI program to generate an outline for a training course, the information inputted is saved in the AI database and can be used to generate content for another user outside of the organization. If the AI program used is public, the instructional designer may unintentionally be sharing trade secrets.

Federal administrative law: 37 C.F.R. § 202.1 outlines what types of material are not subject to copyright (Preregistration and Registration of Claims to Copyright, 1984). When content is generated by AI, instructional designers and other departments in an organization must review the generated content for copyrighted material (Stone, 2023). This regulation is helpful for instructional designers and organizational partners to determine what information is not copyrighted.

18 U.S.C § 1832. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1832

Preregistration and Registration of Claims to Copyright, 37 C.F.R. § 202.1 (1984). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-37/chapter-II/subchapter-A/part-202

Stone, T. (2023, July 6). How generative AI will forever change the role of instructional designers. I4CP. https://www.i4cp.com/productivity-blog/how-generative-ai-will-forever-change-the-role-of-instructional-designers

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In February 2023, Getty Images filed a copyright infringement complaint against Stability AI. In this case, Getty Images claims Stability AI copied over 12 million Getty Images photos without their permission (Getty Images, Inc. v. Stability AI, inc., 2023). This is significant for the use of generative AI in instructional design because it shows that generated images could be subject to copyright. For example, in this case, if an instructional designer used Stability AI to generate a photo, the generated photo could have been a Getty Image and the designer would be violating copyright laws if that image is used.

Getty Images, Inc. v. Stability AI, inc. (D. Del. 2023). https://admin.bakerlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/ECF-1-Complaint-1.pdf

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Texas House Bill 2060 mandates that an AI Advisory Council will be implemented to oversee the use of AI in Texas state agencies (Tex. H.B. 2060, 2023). This is important for instructional designers who develop curriculum for Texas state agencies because if they use any AI or generative AI, they will have to follow the AI Advisory Council guidelines.

Tex. H.B. 2060, 88th Cong. (2023). https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/HB02060F.pdf#navpanes=0

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Slide 7: Local Administrative Law/Policy/Rule

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Slide 7: Local Administrative Law/Policy/Rule

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In the Student Handbook, Angelo State University (2023) defines plagiarism as “the representation of words, ideas, illustrations, structure, computer code, other expression, or other media of another or other resources as one’s own and/or failing to properly cite direct, paraphrased, or summarized materials” (p. 3). This can be interpreted to include materials generated by AI that students submit as their own work. Examples that would violate this policy include:

·        a computer science student who uses AI to solve or create a code for an assignment,

·        a graphic design student who uses generative AI to create a graphic for an assignment,

·        a psychology student who uses generative AI to write any part of a paper or an entire paper, and

·        any student who uses AI or generative AI to complete any assignment.

Angelo State University. (2023). Part I: Code of student conduct section B: Procedures from the Office of Student Conduct for Students. In Angelo State University Student Handbook. https://pstat-live-media.s3.amazonaws.com/pdf_cache/policy/13904652/915d7b4e-9449-4ebb-b079-d9d806ce522f/Part%20I%20-%20Code%20of%20Student%20Conduct%20Section%20B-%20Procedures%20from%20the%20Office%20of%20Student%20Conduct%20for%20Students.pdf

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·        For using generative AI in instructional design, the Identify-Consider-Act-Reflect framework provided by the CFA Institute (n.d.) should be utilized. The first step is to identify ethical issues, who the duty is owed to, facts, and conflicts of interest (CFA Institute, n.d.). For the use of generative AI, the ethical issues are potential plagiarism, copyright infringement, and spread of misinformation. The duty is owed to the employer the content is being made for and the learner who will learn the content. The second step is to consider influences, other actions, and further guidance (CFA Institute, n.d.). Influences for the use of AI is that it is becoming common to use and designers may have pressure to use AI. Other actions and further guidance can include thinking if generative AI should be used for a certain project and brainstorming with other designers to come up with other options to create content. The third step is to decide on a solution or refer to someone higher up (CFA Institute, n.d.). Instructional designers in this step will decide if generative AI will be used in their project or refer the issue to their manager to determine if AI is appropriate. The final step is to reflect on the ethical decision-making process and what was learned (CFA Institute, n.d.). Instructional designers will think about the process of deciding if AI should be used for a project, if the right decision was made, and how they can use what they learned in this process to make decisions regarding AI going forward.

·        Another risk management framework for ethical decisions is provided by Husick (2017). The first step in this process is to gather the facts surrounding the project (Husick, 2017). The next steps are to pinpoint what the ethical issue is, consider other avenues for proceeding, and choose and evaluate a decision (Husick, 2017). In instructional designer using this framework would gather information about a project and who would all be involved, evaluate any ethical issues with using AI in the project, come up with other avenues for completing a project without using AI, and decide on an appropriate solution. The instructional designer will also evaluate the results of the solution and reflect on if another solution would have been more or less beneficial for future projects (Husick, 2017).

CFA Institute (n.d.). Ethical decision making. https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/ethics-standards/ethics/ethical-decision-making

Husick, L. (2017, April 6). A framework for ethical decision making. Foreign Policy Research Institute. https://www.fpri.org/article/2017/04/framework-ethical-decision-making/

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Business code of ethics involves the protection of proprietary information and ensure the company “will not engage in unauthorized use, copying, distribution or alteration of software or other intellectual property” (SHRM, n.d., Proprietary Information section). Instructional design content that includes copyrighted materials or proprietary information would violate the business code of ethics.

Ethical standards also prohibit sharing private company information with customers or outside partners (SHRM, n.d.). This means that if an instructional designer inputted a prompt into a public AI software, they may be sharing private company data.

SHRM (n.d.). Code of ethics and business conduct. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/policies/pages/code-of-ethics-conduct-policy.aspx

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Slide 10: Personal Connection to the Legal and Ethical Standards

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Slide 10: Personal Connection to the Legal and Ethical Standards

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This assignment has allowed me to understand all the federal and state laws surrounding my field. I have a better understanding of how generative AI can have legal and ethical consequences, such as copyright and sharing trade secrets. I knew that generative AI was a concern in my field, however I did not realize that it was already a legal concern. This assignment has helped me with my goals in furthering my education in the field of instructional design because I feel like I am better equipped to research the legalities of using AI. I know the use of AI is growing rapidly in businesses and now I can research sources of law to help my organization stay on the right legal and ethical path. I will be able to consider current laws and ethical frameworks to help my team determine if AI should be used for a project or how it should be used to stay legally compliant.

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Slide 11: Recommendations/Best Practices for Compliance

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Slide 11: Recommendations/Best Practices for Compliance

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For instructional designers to be compliant with legal and ethical standards, they should:

·        Screen generated content for errors, copyright material, and false information (Stone, 2023);

·        Generated content should be evaluated by compliance and IT departments (Stone, 2023);

·        Use internal AI software to prevent sharing company data (Talagala, 2023);

·        Know when to use an external AI software for certain purposes where company data is not being shared (Talagala, 2023);

·        Closely monitor legal updates regarding the use of AI at the local, state, and federal level (Talagala, 2023);

·        Use AI sparingly, generative AI should be used as a tool and not relied upon (Stone, 2023).

Stone, T. (2023, July 6). How generative AI will forever change the role of instructional designers. I4CP. https://www.i4cp.com/productivity-blog/how-generative-ai-will-forever-change-the-role-of-instructional-designers

Talagala, N. (2023, July). AI ethics in the age of ChatGPT: What businesses need to know. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/nishatalagala/2023/07/07/ai-ethics-in-the-age-of-chatgptwhat-businesses-need-to-know/?sh=44c1bda8651e