AI in the K-12 Mathematics Classroom: An Ethical Study of Artificial Intelligence in Education

Abstract

This thesis involves an ethical and philosophical evaluation of core issues surrounding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in K-12 mathematics education. AI, for the purpose of the thesis, refers to computer-based systems that can simulate humanlike thinking and actions including machines that perform tasks or analyses based on machine learning algorithms. The thesis investigates concepts of applied ethics surrounding the implementation of automated artificially intelligent systems in educational settings from a Kantian framework. This involves the application of moral considerations to practical action using the Categorical Imperative defined by Kant in his 1785 work “Groundwork on the Metaphysics of Morals” and the concept of universalized moral action, and will elucidate the ethical issues associated with the introduction and use of AI in K-12 mathematics education. Through the Kantian framework, the thesis will consider what the producers and users of AI are ethically permitted to do when designing and using AI technology in the classroom, as well as the ethical duties of the AI systems insofar as they are independent rational actors capable of making decisions. From a Kantian perspective, all actions need to be informed by logically derived principles, and each principle must entail specific moral duties that the actors need to be acting ethically. Furthermore, these actions of the system must be informed by a good will in the Kantian sense and treat all rational beings as means in themselves and not as ends. For Kant, good will is based on the intention or volition of the actors (Kant, 1785). A Kantian perspective also posits that the rights and wellbeing of rational actors should be prioritized above all else, meaning that the principles driving the actions need to be applied to all independent rational actors, including the AI system insofar as they meet the standards defining such actors. The interests of each group of the K-12 mathematics education AI system (programmers/creators, AI programs/machines, and teachers/students) will be examined, and ethical conclusions will be drawn according to Kantian principles.