Teens’ Ethical Views on AI
Excellent Educator, Volume: 2, Issue: 23, Page: 2
Summary of Gazulla et al. (2025)
This study examines how teenagers reason about AI ethics during three Finnish technology-learning activities. Students aged 13–16 reflected on fairness, privacy, autonomy, manipulation, data security, and social consequences while interacting with AI-related tools. Their reflections revealed surprising depth: many connected AI ethics to personalized feeds, facial recognition, algorithmic bias, and digital inequality. They worried about hidden data collection, persuasive technologies and how AI might shape identity or restrict opportunities.
Using an adapted ethical-thinking framework, the authors analyzed student responses across consequentialist, rights-based, and common-good perspectives. Even without formal instruction, many teens demonstrated emerging ethical literacy, grounding abstract principles in practical experiences.
The authors argue that this natural ethical sensitivity provides a strong foundation for curriculum planning. Instead of isolating AI ethics as a standalone unit, they recommend embedding ethical questioning across subjects—particularly digital citizenship, social studies, and technology education. Ethical literacy, they conclude, must be taught as a habit, not a topic.
Implications for Practice
- Embed ethical reasoning into AI-related activities across subjects.
- Use real-world digital tools to provoke ethical discussions.
- Encourage students to analyse AI’s impact on daily life.
- Integrate fairness, privacy, and autonomy concepts in middle-school curricula.
Table 2.23.2
| Item | Details |
| Context | Finland |
| Design | Retrospective qualitative |
| Participants | Teens (13–16 yrs) |
| Focus | Ethical reflections on AI |
| Contribution | Framework for youth AI-ethics thinking |
Reference
Durall Gazulla, E., Hirvonen, N., Sharma, S., Hartikainen, H., Jylhä, V., Iivari, N., Kinnula, M., & Baizhanova, A. (2025). Youth perspectives on technology ethics: Analysis of teens’ ethical reflections on AI in learning activities. Behaviour & Information Technology, 44(5), 888–911. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2024.2350666
Suggested Citation
Ross, E. M., & Malar, D. B. J. (2025). Teens’ Ethical Views on AI. Excellent Educator, 2(23), 2.