Postplagiarism: transdisciplinary ethics and integrity in the age of artificial intelligence and neurotechnology

Abstract

AbstractIn this article I explore the concept of postplagiarism, loosely defined as an era in human society and culture in which advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and neurotechnology, including brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), become a normal part of life, including how we teach, learn, communicate, and interact on a daily basis. Ethics and integrity are intensely important in the postplagiarism era when technology cannot be decoupled from everyday life. I argue that it might be reasonable to assume that when commercialized neuro-educational technology is readily available in a form that is implantable/ingestible/embeddable and invisible then academic integrity arms race will be over, as detection will be an exercise in futility.In a postplagiarism era, humans are compelled to grapple with questions about ethics and integrity for a socially just world at a time when advanced technology cannot be unbundled from education or everyday life. I conclude with a call to action for transdisciplinary research to better understand ethical implications of advanced technologies in education, emphasizing that such research can be considered pre-emptive, rather than speculative. The ethical implications of ubiquitous artificial intelligence and neurotechnology (e.g., BCIs) in education are important at a global scale as we prepare today’s students for academic and lifelong success.