From email composition and entertainment recommendations to smart device management, artificial intelligence now underpins many everyday activities. It also plays a significant role in professional sectors, contributing to recruitment, healthcare decisions, and educational progress tracking.
Yet despite its widespread adoption, most Australian university students—outside computing and STEM fields—receive little formal training in using AI critically or responsibly. In a recent commentary for The Conversation, Rachel Fitzgerald and Caitlin Curtis of The University of Queensland warned that this lack of education poses a risk for the future workforce.
Gaps in university teaching
While some universities now permit AI use in certain assessments, often requiring proper attribution, this does not teach students how AI tools function or how to navigate their ethical implications.
“Using AI is not as simple as typing questions into a chat function,” the authors wrote, highlighting concerns about bias and misinformation. They stressed the need for students to understand AI’s limitations, the importance of human judgement, and the nuances of responsible use within their field.
Students also need to recognise how their personal biases might influence how they interact with AI systems. They should be trained to ask whether data used by AI respects privacy, whether outputs are accurate, and who is accountable when mistakes occur.
The ethical challenge
Though ethical concerns are sometimes addressed in STEM, philosophy, and psychology degrees, they remain absent from most mainstream university programs. This, according to Fitzgerald and Curtis, is worrying.
For example, AI used in legal, business, or healthcare settings can reinforce unfair biases or create transparency issues. Misuse in these sectors can lead to flawed contracts, biased hiring, or even incorrect medical decisions.
“As AI becomes increasingly embedded in professional life, the cost of uncritical use also scales up,” they wrote, pointing to risks like biased outcomes and real-world harm.
A call for reform
The authors cited overseas initiatives, such as programs at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Edinburgh, that teach AI ethics—though these are often targeted at graduate students.
They argued for similar efforts in Australia.
Implementing meaningful AI ethics education will require curriculum reform, cross-disciplinary teaching, staff development, and government support. Fitzgerald and Curtis suggested universities could serve as “ethical AI hubs,” reflecting recommendations from the 2024 Australian University Accord report.
“Today’s students are tomorrow’s decision-makers,” they concluded. “Universities have a public responsibility to ensure graduates know how to use AI responsibly—and understand why their choices matter.”