Name: Jagadeesh Naduvinamath
Country: India

Year: 2026
Volume: Vol-16, issue-1, Year-2026 (JUNE special issue ) Special Issue: Ai, Ethics and Human Values : Shaping the Future of Higher Education
Page Number: 32-36
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21490160

ABSTRACT
The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into higher education is fundamentally reshaping epistemological structures, pedagogical practices, and institutional governance. While AI-driven systems such as intelligent tutoring, generative models, and predictive analytics enhance efficiency and personalization, they simultaneously introduce complex ethical dilemmas that extend beyond conventional frameworks of data privacy and bias. This paper advances a normative and theoretical architecture for ethical AI in higher education by synthesizing insights from algorithmic epistemology, critical pedagogy, and techno-ethics.

The study interrogates how AI systems mediate knowledge production, authority, and authenticity within academic ecosystems. It critically examines the epistemic shift from human-centered knowledge construction to algorithmically mediated cognition, raising concerns about epistemic dependency, cognitive offloading, and the erosion of critical thinkin