AI in the Classroom: What Professors Say Is Ethical (and Where They Draw the Line)

Have you ever opened your laptop to “just update the rubric,” and suddenly it’s two hours later and you still haven’t touched the rubric?

• clean up lecture slides,

• write weekly announcements,

• build a quiz,

• answer emails,

• and still be a real human being.

That’s the moment a lot of professors are now facing. AI in the classroom ethics can speed things up, but it also raises a question that matters just as much as efficiency:

Just because we can use AI for teaching work… Does that mean we should?

This blog is based on a Reddit discussion thread where real professors talked openly about how they use AI and where they think the ethical limits are.

World Education Day is a good time to talk about something many of us face daily. AI use in education is already part of our routines.

Students use AI to study, brainstorm, and write. Educators use AI to plan lessons, build rubrics, and handle repetitive tasks. But a key question remains:

When is AI used helpful, and when does it cross the line?

To keep this balanced (not “AI is good” or “AI is bad”), I looked at what professors themselves said in that Reddit conversation.

What the Reddit thread was about

A professor asked other professors what they think is ethical when it comes to AI use for teaching tasks like:

• Writing rubrics

• Creating multiple-choice questions

• Organizing a course schedule

• Coming up with new course topics

• Drafting lecture content

• Grading objective work

• Grading essays and other subjective work

The professor who posted said they personally use AI for things like:

• Helping write rubrics

• Turning lecture notes into slide-friendly format

What many professors seemed to agree on

AI is “okay” when the professor stays in control.

A common idea was

• Use AI as a helper.

• Don’t let AI replace your judgment

Professors said ethical use of AI in teaching happens when the educator:

• checks the output

• fixes mistakes

• rewrites as needed

• takes full responsibility for the final work

AI is “okay” when the professor stays in control.

Many professors were most comfortable using AI tools for educators for “support” tasks like:

• rewriting or organizing text

• making slide outlines

• drafting module summaries

• creating templates or checklists

• helping with general admin writing

These uses are seen as saving time without harming learning as long as the professor reviews the final result.

Grading (especially essays) is where many draw the line

One of the strongest themes was:

Don’t use AI to grade essays or subjective work.

Even people who were okay with AI for planning were worried about AI and grading essays because:

• it can be unfair

• it can miss meaning and context

• it can give generic feedback

• students deserve human judgment

Objective grading (like quizzes) was debated more, but essay grading got the most pushback.

Where professors disagreed (and why)

Some said, “AI can be ethical,” others said “none of it is ethical”

Some professors said AI can be fine with strong limits. Others said no AI use is ethical, mainly because of:

• environmental impact (energy/water use)

• concerns about how training data was collected

• fear that AI will replace human educators

Accuracy concerns: “AI can sound right and still be wrong”

Some professors warned that AI can create content that sounds confident but is incorrect. This is especially risky for lectures and assessments. That’s why many say that if you use it, you must double-check everything.

“Core teaching work” should not be outsourced

Some professors argued that these are not “small tasks” but core teaching:

• Designing rubrics

• Writing good questions

• Planning a course schedule

They worry that if educators outsource these, the course quality may drop, especially in AI in higher education.

Privacy and student data (important!)

A repeated warning was about privacy and school policies.

Some professors said uploading student work into third-party AI tools could raise privacy issues (like FERPA in the U.S.), and some universities ban it unless the tool is officially approved.

A simple “balanced” guide (based on what professors said)

Usually seen as lower-risk (still review carefully)

• Drafting or improving rubric wording

• Turning notes into slides/outlines

• Writing templates, summaries, or checklists

• Brainstorming examples or practice questions (then verifying)

Seen as higher-risk / more controversial

• Generating full lecture content without careful editing

• Making tests/questions without checking quality and accuracy

• Using AI to decide what belongs in a course

Where many professors say, “don’t do this”

• AI grading essays or subjective work

• Uploading student work into unapproved AI tools

• Using AI in ways that affect students without transparency

Quick checklist before using AI (students and educators)

Before you use AI, ask:

1. Would I be okay telling people I used it?

2. Does it involve student data? If yes, is it allowed?

3. Am I checking it carefully for errors?

4. Does this help learning, not just save time?

5. If it fails, could someone get harmed or treated unfairly?

Final thoughts for World Education Day

AI is not automatically good or bad in education. But this Reddit discussion shows something important.

Many professors are thinking carefully about ethics, fairness, and trust. If we want responsible AI in schools, we need clear boundaries, honesty, and responsibility from both students and educators.