Office of Undergraduate Research

Ethics and Moral Judgments in Human-AI Co-creation Margo Katherine Wilke Undergraduate Research Internship Program Spring 2026 Accepted Generative AI, Human-AI Interactions, Ethics of AI, Communication This project investigates how people assign authorship, ownership, and moral responsibility in creative works produced collaboratively by humans and artificial intelligence (AI). Using experiments and in-depth interviews, the study examines how moral patiency (perceptions of an entity’s capacity to be harmed) and ownership perceptions influence judgments of fairness, originality, and proper credit attribution in human-AI collaboration. Students participating in this project will: - Develop skills in experimental design, data collection, and both quantitative and qualitative analysis. - Gain hands-on experience conducting interviews and thematic coding of transcripts. - Learn to critically examine ethical and psychological questions about AI and creativity. - Contribute to manuscript preparation, conference presentations, and research posters, with opportunities for authorship. Hyesun Choung Students will be actively involved in all stages of the research process. Responsibilities include:
- Assisting with lab-based experiments on human-AI creative collaboration.
- Conducting interviews and engaging in thematic coding and transcript analysis.
- Participating in weekly lab meetings to discuss progress, refine research questions, and interpret findings.
- Contributing to literature reviews, data analysis, and visualization of results. - Junior or senior undergraduate in good academic standing (GPA 3.3 or higher). - Familiarity with statistical software (e.g., SPSS, R) or qualitative coding is desirable but not required. - Strong interest in AI, ethics, or communication research. - Good organizational skills and willingness to engage in regular lab meetings and research discussions. 0 5 (estimated)