COMMUNICATION ETHICS OF SUMBAWA TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOWARDS ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Abstract

The development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in higher education has significantly transformed students’ academic practices, particularly in information retrieval and academic writing. The increasingly intensive use of AI not only offers academic efficiency but also raises ethical issues related to digital communication that have direct implications for academic integrity. This study aims to examine how students of Universitas Teknologi Sumbawa perceive and apply digital communication ethics in the use of AI and how these practices affect academic integrity. This research employs a descriptive qualitative approach, with primary data collected through in-depth interviews with eight students from various study programs selected using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. The findings indicate that students possess an initial awareness of ethical principles in AI usage, particularly concerning honesty, responsibility, and cognitive autonomy. However, this ethical awareness has not been fully internalized into consistent academic practices. The use of AI tends to be negotiated in a situational and pragmatic manner, especially under academic pressure, resulting in transparency and honesty being applied implicitly rather than explicitly. These findings suggest that students cannot yet be categorized as consistently ethical AI users. The study concludes that strengthening digital communication ethics is essential to maintaining and reinforcing students’ academic integrity amid the growing integration of Artificial Intelligence in higher education.