Fairfield Dolan undergraduate students placed first in the Providence College Michael Smith Ethics Case Competition which took place virtually on February 24. This year's case centered on artificial intelligence regulation, prompting students to consider its ethical implications. More specifically, the team was challenged to evaluate the problems associated with AI chatbots, directly connecting their work to ethical theories.

Over two weeks, with guidance from a professor of accounting at Fairfield Dolan, Joan Lee, PhD, the student team researched and crafted their response for the February 24 event. This included presentations to a panel of judges comprising of corporate and ethics professionals. The ultimate goal was for students to come to a recommendation on what restrictions, if any, might be considered for AI chatbots.

“It was a well-deserved win which demanded my peers and I to work together effectively and would not have been accomplished without the guidance of Dr. Joan Lee,” said Nicholas Romagnolo, a sophomore marketing and psychology major in the Dolan School of Business.

Judges evaluated the students based on content, delivery, persuasiveness, ethical soundness of recommendations, and how teams respond to questions.

The competition this year included one team each from Canada and Mexico in addition to 10 U.S. teams. Fairfield Dolan securing the top spot is a reflection of the students' deep understanding of AI ethics and thorough preparation of the case.

“We knew we would be facing pretty stiff competition, so we tried our best and worked hard on our presentations, but we weren't sure what the judges would think of [the presentations]. We are very pleased the judges liked our work,” said Emma Seel, a sophomore economics major in the Dolan School of Business who contributed to the first-place win.