Resources on the broader impacts, and concerns surrounding the impacts, of Generative AI. Topics include environmental effects, ethics, copyright, cybersecurity, social implications, and hype-cycle patterns. Gain a critical understanding of how to navigate and evaluate GenAI.
The links below provide insights into current scholarly conversations. Inclusion of a resource does not imply its endorsement.
Environmental Impacts
GenAI has substantial negative impacts on the environment, with heavy water usage, electricity demand and carbon emissions. The current environmental footprint for GenAI is growing rapidly, and places unexpected pressure on electric grids.
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The True Environmental Cost of Data CentersA peer-reviewed open-access article (2025) on the cost of data centers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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Impact of Environmental Regulation on Data Center ValuationA 2025 MIT Masters Thesis on environmental regulation of data centers.
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The Climate and Sustainability Implications of Generative AIA 2023 article in the journal Nature-Inspired Design and Sustainability published by MIT.
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Their Water Taps Ran DryA 2025 article in the New York Times about a Meta Data Center. Visit https://libguides.rowan.edu/nyt to enable your NYT access.
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Risks and Benefits of Large Language Models for the EnvironmentA 2023 Viewpoint article in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.
Ethics
GenAI technology has raised new ethics concerns on topics such as bias, copyright, data privacy and misinformation.
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UNESCO Guidelines on AI EthicsIssued in 2021 by UNESCO. Site includes the Global AI Ethics and Governance Observatory.
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Worldwide AI ethics: A review of 200 guidelines and recommendations for AI governanceThis 2023 open-access article in the journal Cell Press reviews 200 sets of AI governance policies and guidelines.
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Ethical and Bias Considerations in Artificial Intelligence/Machine LearningThis open-access article in the journal Modern Pathology reviews ethical implications in medicine.
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AI Ethics: Integrating Transparency, Fairness, and Privacy in AI DevelopmentThis open-access article (2025) in the journal Applied Artificial Intelligence discusses development models.
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An Overview of Artificial Intelligence EthicsThis open-access article (2023) in the IEEE Transactions on Artificial Intelligence provides an overview on AI ethics.
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Oxford Institute for Ethics in AILeading philosophers and other experts in the humanities join technical developers.
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Ethics and Costs of Generative AIThis library guide page from Amherst College provides popular reading materials.
Copyright
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ChatGPT: A Case Study on Copyright ChallengesAn open-access article (2023) from the European Journal of Risk Regulation.
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Copyright and AI training dataAn open-access article (2025) from the Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice.
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Understanding authorship in Artificial Intelligence-assisted worksAn open-access article (2025) from the Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice.
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Framework for Applying Copyright LawAn open-access article (2024) from the Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal discussing fair use and AI model training.
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Knowledge Distillation in Artificial Intelligence ModelsAn open-access article (2025) from the Proceedings of the Intellectual Property Researchers of Europe Conference.
Hype Cycle
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Gartner Hype CycleCreated in 1995, this model describes the general progression for many new technologies through phases of adoption and disillusionment.
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Investigating the “Feeling Rules” of Generative AI and Imagining Alternative FuturesThis blog post (2025) describes a range of concerns that librarians have about GenAI.
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Disrupting the Disruption NarrativeThis open-access article (2025) published by the National Academy of Engineering discusses narratives of technological change.
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Unveiling the Generative AI boomThis open-access article (2025) in the journal Electronic Commerce Research about hype surrounding GenAI.
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Emphasizing Deliberation and Critical Thinking in an AI Hype WorldThis open-access article (2025) on ArXiv advocates more deliberate use of GenAI.
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Why the AI Hype is Another Tech BubbleThis open-access article (2024) from Yale University's Digital Ethics Center discusses tech trends.
Social Impacts
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Balancing Technological Innovation and RegulationThis open-access 2025 article in The Jurist, a publication from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, advocates for governance frameworks.
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Artificial Intelligence and the Future of EmploymentAn open-access 2025 article from the Social Science Research Network.
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The 2025 AI Index ReportIssued by Stanford University's Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) Institute.
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An MIT Exploration of Generative AI: From Novel Chemicals to OperaA 2024 volume of papers on generative AI by MIT faculty.
Algorithmic Bias
Algorithmic bias refers to systematic errors in the training or behaviors of GenAI systems. The data used to train GenAI often reflect human biases. Efforts to address bias in GenAI are complex, and fast-evolving.
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Aligned Generative Models Exhibit Adultification BiasThis blog post (2025) from the Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton University describes the biases observed in representations of children in image generations.
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Bias in LLM ModelsThis NYU Shanghai Library guide page (2025) on bias in LLM models provides readings and discussion on different types of bias.
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Ethics and discrimination in artificial intelligence-enabled recruitment practicesThis open-access article (2023) in the Humanities and Social Sciences Communications journal has received positive attention. It discusses algorithmic bias in recruitment.
Impact on Learning
- Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task
2025 study from MIT that examines cognitive debt when using an AI assistant.
- The Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Students’ Academic Development
2025 study from Bucharest that examines the impact of AI technologies on students’ learning processes and academic performance, with a focus on their perceptions and the challenges associated with AI adoption.
- Generative AI can harm learning
2024 study that investigates the impact of generative AI, specifically OpenAI's GPT-4, on human learning in the context of math classes at a high school.
- Impact of artificial intelligence on human loss in decision making, laziness and safety in education
2023 study from 285 students in Pakistan and China on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on loss in decision-making, laziness, and privacy.
- The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Development of Critical Thinking Skills in Students
2024 study that attempts to answer the following question: how do AI-based tools influence these essential academic competencies of critical thinking and problem solving skills.
- The effect of ChatGPT on students’ learning performance, learning perception, and higher-order thinking: insights from a meta-analysis
2025 meta-analysis of 51 research studies published between November 2022 and February 2025 to assess the effectiveness of ChatGPT in improving students’ learning performance
- AI Platforms like ChatGPT Are Easy to Use but Also Potentially Dangerous
2022 magazine article that outlines potential dangers of using AI.