Beyond Algorithms: Unveiling the Intersection of AI Ethics, Citizenship Education, and Social Studies

The rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in recent years has led to various positive transformations in everyday life. However, this rise has also brought about the emergence of some ethical issues that raise concerns in society. Examples of these ethical issues include the manipulative or harmful use of AI, privacy concerns, bias, discrimination, and lack of transparency and accountability. AI ethics, on the other hand, represent a set of guiding principles that stakeholders should adopt to ensure the responsible development and utilization of AI technologies. Considering that young people are potential users and developers of AI, teaching them these principles from an early age can be seen as a natural part of citizenship education. Thus, incorporating AI ethics-related content into the curriculum of various K-12 courses can be regarded as an effective approach. This chapter argued that social studies, with its focus on fostering effective citizens for the future, will emerge as a crucial application area for this approach. At this point, the relevant study aims to explore the intersections between AI ethics, citizenship education, and social studies. It is believed that the study will make a significant contribution to the literature by revealing the new dynamics created by AI in citizenship education and demonstrating the potential role that the social studies curriculum can play in this regard.