Do Developers of Generative AI Tools Have an Ethical Obligation to Incorporate Features That Prevent Their Misuse in Academic Settings?

Paper Guidelines
Social, Ethical, and Professional Issues in Computing
SP24 CSE 2501

1. Choose a topic.

   • You can write on a topic that is not in the topics index.
   • The topic you choose to write on must be the same topic you present on.

2. Research.

   • Do as much research as you can to find reliable sources of information to use in your paper.
   • These can include academic and industry articles and books written by experts on the topic, as well as news articles and investigative journalism from reliable media organizations.
   • Do not use Wikipedia (or any Wiki) as a source.

3. Citations.

   • You must correctly cite all the sources you use in your paper.
   • Always error on the side of caution.
   • If you have any questions about whether you have correctly cited a source, you should ask the instructor before you submit your final paper.
   • Failure to properly cite all your sources could amount to academic misconduct.

4. Ethical Question.

   • You must explicitly ask a specific ethical question.
   • Most ethical questions can be phrased in terms of obligation, permission, or responsibility.
     • “Is it ethically permissible for [the relevant CS experts] to [do what specifically]?”
     • “Do [the relevant CS experts] have an ethical obligation to [do what specifically]?”
     • “Are [the relevant CS experts] moral responsible for [what specifically]?”

5. Competing Answers and Decision.

   • State the competing answer to and your decision on your ethical question before using an ethical theory to interpret 3 principles of the ACM Code of Ethics to defend your decision.
   • You should fairly and charitably present the competing answer.
   • Then you must take a side by arguing why you think that your decision is the right answer.
   • You do not have to argue against the competing answer or reply to objections to your decision.
   • You just have to defend your decision.

6. Scope and Conciseness.

   • The writing of your paper must be limited in scope to satisfy the length requirement.
   • To limit the scope of your paper, you should explicitly articulate one ethical question, the competing answer to that question, and your decision.
   • The writing of the paper must be concise to satisfy the length requirement.
   • You should write clearly, explicitly, and directly to the point.
   • Writing a scientific and philosophical paper is not like writing a novel, a short story, a poem, an editorial, a social media post, or a text.
   • Do not waste words.
   • The aim is to effectively communicate your answer to an ethical question.

7. Paper Structure.
   a. Header:

   • [First and last name]
   • [Semester year] CSE2501 [Class#]
   • [Word count]
     b. Length:
   • Maximum of 1350 words, about 5 pages (not including the references).
   • When counting the words, include the body of the paper only. Do not include the header, paper title, section titles, footnotes, or the references.
   • Include the word count in the header of the first page with the rest of your identification information.
     c. Font and Spacing:
   • It can be written in any reasonable font, but it must be 12-point size.
   • It must be double-spaced.
     d. Margins:
   • The margins must be Microsoft Word standard margins: 1 inch all around.
     e. Page Numbers:
   • The pages must be numbered.
     f. Do not manipulate spacing or margins:
   • Do not waste time manipulating the font size, spacing, or margins to try to create more space.
   • None of that will change the word count.

8. Sections:

   • Section 1:
     • You should very briefly tell the reader what you are going to do in your paper.
   • Section 2:
     • You should discuss your topic in enough detail to set up your ethical question, and then you should present the question explicitly at the end of the section.
     • Since you presented the question in the introduction, this will involve repeating your ethical question.
     • This is okay because some strategic repetition can help facilitate affective communication.
     • Moreover, both questions must be identical.
   • Section 3:
     • You should present the two competing answers to your ethical question.
     • If your ethical question is formulated properly, then it should generate two, mutually exclusive competing answers. – If it seems like your ethical question generates a list of answers that all have to be qualified in different ways, then this is an indication that your ethical question is not specific enough.
     • In this way, the competing answers are a helpful test of the specificity of your ethical question.
   • Section 4:
     • You should support your decision on your ethical question by choosing the specific ethical theory that you think identifies what matters most morally to answering your ethical question, and then use that specific ethical theory to interpret three principles of the ACM Code of Ethics that when interpreted that way say that your decision is correct.
   • Section 5:
     • You should draw one major normative implication for your decision on your ethical question.
     • The implication can have parts, but you should not superficially survey multiple unrelated implications.
     • A normative implication is something else that should or should not be done if your decision on your ethical question is correct.

9. References:

   • You should have a references page at the end of your paper that lists your seven sources in alphabetical order by the lead author’s last name (or a prescribed alternative).
   • You can choose which formatting style you want to use for your citations and references, but it must be a recognized style, and you must use it consistently.
     • So do not make up a style, and do not mix styles.