Codes of Ethics for Generative Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education: Do They Matter?

The emergence of the generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tool ChatGPT in 2022 marked a turning point in the context of AI developments, but also in the ethical consideration of its use in various contexts, including in education. Since then, various guidelines, recommendations and policies have been developed to guide the acceptable and responsible uses of generative AI, also known as codes of ethics for GAI. Universities have not been immune to these developments and have also joined in the formulation of specific institutional guidelines and policies to recommend and regulate the types of uses of GAI that are acceptable in their higher education contexts. In this discussion article, we raise questions about the importance and usefulness of codes of ethics for GAI in the context of higher education and the challenges they confront in their design, implementation and evaluation. All in all, our purpose is to encourage debate about how to make sure responsible and ethical uses of GAI are done by educators and students, while aligning to their agency and empowerment.