Ethical Concerns in GenAI ‐Assisted Collaborative Digital Multimodal Composing: A Case Study of Blended Learning

Abstract

While providing affordances for digital multimodal composing (DMC), GenAI brings along various ethical concerns. Prior research has discussed algorithmic risks and technology‐related design issues, yet little attention has been paid to how learners collectively perceive and respond to ethical issues. This qualitative case study explored how eight English learners perceived and responded to ethical concerns over a semester of GenAI‐assisted academic poster‐making in a blended learning context. Data from classroom discussions, GenAI logs, and interviews revealed three key dimensions of ethical concerns: legal, social, and pedagogical. Students' ethical concerns progressed from abstract and superficial awareness to contextualized and task‐specific understandings. Their responses to ethical concerns evolved from reactive, individual, vague responses to proactive, collaborative negotiations, and shared responsibility. Cognitive, experiential, and social factors, including metacognitive awareness, practical engagement, and peer collaboration, contributed to the progression. The study sheds light on the evolution of learners' ethical awareness of and responses to GenAI in the DMC context and offers pedagogical implications for guiding responsible GenAI use. Ultimately, it highlights that AI ethics is not only about what learners can do with GenAI but also about what they should do and what kind of responsible person they aspire to be in GenAI‐mediated learning environments.