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When Rachel Sorano started her assurance internship at accounting firm RSM last summer, she wondered if artificial intelligence (AI) might someday take over parts of her job.聽聽

After using an AI-powered digital assistant at the firm, she saw the limits firsthand.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a good resource, but I can鈥檛 really rely on it,鈥� said Sorano, a senior accounting student from Lowell who has a job lined up at RSM after graduation. 鈥淲ith assurance, you have to actually know what you鈥檙e doing. My job is to know what鈥檚 right and what鈥檚 wrong.鈥�

That blend of curiosity and caution about AI was a recurring theme at Ethics Fest 2025, where hundreds of 51视频 students explored how technology is reshaping ethical decision-making.聽

Hosted by the Donahue Center for Business Ethics and Social Responsibility, the fifth annual event featured 21 interactive 鈥淓ngagement Stations鈥� designed by faculty, student groups and departments across campus.

Stations covered everything from universal design and self-driving cars to sustainability and job searches, but several addressed the growing use of AI, sparking conversations about data privacy, fairness and what responsibility means in an age of algorithms.

鈥淎I is on everybody鈥檚 mind, and it鈥檚 a cutting-edge ethical issue,鈥� said Elise Magnant, faculty director of the Donahue Center and an associate teaching professor of management. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not going away. Students want to do the right thing, but with so many tools at their disposal, it can be hard to know what that is. This event gives them a space to talk about it, hear other perspectives and make thoughtful decisions.鈥�

Members of the Management Information Systems Society, led by senior Ibrahim Cholpon, invited peers to wrestle with dilemmas around data consent and corporate accountability.

鈥淚f AI makes a bad decision, who鈥檚 to blame 鈥� the person or the program?鈥� Cholpon said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been amazing seeing how passionate people get about these questions.鈥�

Nearby, Disha Patel, president of the UML Salesforce Leaders Group, challenged visitors to think about AI鈥檚 social effects.

鈥淚t can make work easier, but if you鈥檙e not using it responsibly, it can do harm,鈥� said Patel, a senior marketing student. 鈥淎t the end of the day, business is about people.鈥�

At the 鈥淎I in the Classroom鈥� station, students from Associate Teaching Professor Deb Casey鈥檚 marketing course posed scenarios like whether it鈥檚 OK to use ChatGPT to check homework or finish a group project.

鈥淚 think most people are familiar with AI, but there are things that may come up in your academics where you鈥檙e not sure what to do,鈥� said Carter Geoghan, a junior management student. 鈥淭hese questions help put yourself in those situations.鈥�

Students from Associate Professor of Accounting Amy Chen鈥檚 Accounting Information Systems course presented class projects that examined the new AI Ethics Governance Framework released by the accounting profession earlier this year.聽

Working in teams, the students interviewed professionals at firms such as Ernst & Young, LGA and Novogradac to learn how companies are developing and enforcing policies for responsible AI use. Using those insights, they designed their own policy proposals 鈥� covering data confidentiality, employee training and ethical oversight 鈥� and then compared their ideas with what firms are actually doing.

The project, Chen said, helped students see how quickly the field is evolving and why accountants remain essential for judgment and integrity, even as AI tools become more common.

鈥淎I is an important tool that is becoming part of every industry, but it鈥檚 still in its infancy stages in accounting,鈥� said senior Jasmine Mury, whose team interviewed alum David Levine 鈥�23, a senior tax associate at LGA. 鈥淲hen people use AI as an assistive tool, firms want to make sure that client confidentiality and security is maintained.鈥澛�