Good proctor or "Big Brother"? AI Ethics and Online Exam Supervision Technologies
It addresses ethical concerns for students and institutions using AI-based proctoring, but is incremental as it applies existing AI ethics frameworks to a specific domain.
This article philosophically analyzes the ethical implications of online exam supervision technologies, which gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, by examining concepts such as academic integrity, privacy, and fairness to guide educational institutions in their deployment decisions.
This article philosophically analyzes online exam supervision technologies, which have been thrust into the public spotlight due to campus lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing demand for online courses. Online exam proctoring technologies purport to provide effective oversight of students sitting online exams, using artificial intelligence (AI) systems and human invigilators to supplement and review those systems. Such technologies have alarmed some students who see them as `Big Brother-like', yet some universities defend their judicious use. Critical ethical appraisal of online proctoring technologies is overdue. This article philosophically analyzes these technologies, focusing on the ethical concepts of academic integrity, fairness, non-maleficence, transparency, privacy, respect for autonomy, liberty, and trust. Most of these concepts are prominent in the new field of AI ethics and all are relevant to the education context. The essay provides ethical considerations that educational institutions will need to carefully review before electing to deploy and govern specific online proctoring technologies.