Ethics and Generative Artificial Intelligence in University Education: A Pedagogical Proposal Based on Human Rights

Abstract

The incursion of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into higher education has transformed teaching-learning processes, raising sensitive ethical risks in legal education, where argumentative reasoning constitutes the profession's core competency. The objective was to analyze, based on teacher observation, the forms of generative AI use identified in Law students' research, reasoning, and statutory interpretation activities, with the aim of grounding a pedagogical proposal based on human rights. A qualitative observational and interpretive study was conducted through teacher observation and field notes reconciled by two teacher-observers across two Educational Experiences within the Law Program of the Open Education System at Universidad Veracruzana, Veracruz region (35 and 28 students); the twelve resulting field notes were analyzed inductively into thematic categories through cross-review between the researchers. The findings reveal a spectrum of practices ranging from ethical and responsible use to the substitutive use of students' own legal judgment. It is concluded that these findings support the need for a pedagogical proposal that guides the critical and ethical use of generative artificial intelligence in legal education from a human rights approach.