Just three years ago, more than 30,000 people signed an open letter calling for a pause in the development of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems, warning of "profound risks to society and humanity." Today, with AI tools increasingly woven into everyday life with no pause in sight, urgent questions remain about ethical design, use, and regulation of AI – questions that affect every university student.

    These challenges inspired a collaboration between Virginia Tech researchers Jon Catherwood-Ginn, assistant professor of theatre and co-director of research at the Center for Communicating Science, and Hoda Eldardiry, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science. Together, they launched an interdisciplinary project that uses applied theatre techniques to help students explore the ethical, social, and policy implications of artificial intelligence.

    The researchers shared their work during an April 3 ICAT Playdate hosted by Virginia Tech's Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT), which funded the project through its Mini SEAD Grant program.

    For Eldardiry, the project grew out of her desire to prepare students not only for the technical challenges of artificial intelligence, but also for the human consequences of the technologies they create.

    After spending seven years working in industry following her Ph.D., Eldardiry realized that her own engineering education had focused almost exclusively on technical problem solving. As AI technologies became more influential in society, she began asking how educators could better prepare students to think critically about the ethical dimensions of their work.

    Through a series of workshops, Eldardiry and Catherwood-Ginn invited participants to explore questions pertaining to ethical design, use, and policy for AI using storytelling, improvisation, role-playing, and other applied theatre methods. The goal was to help students recognize their agency in shaping AI's future use, regulation, and development; engage in respectful, open dialogue on AI policy and ethics; gain perspectives on how AI design choices affect outcomes; build skills in imagining potential societal implications; and create a culture of ethics-informed decision-making as an integral part of computer science education.

This photo shows three undergraduate students, one seated and two standing. One has her hands to her head, and the seated student is slumped backwards as if unconscious.
Student participants in an applied theatre workshop imagine themselves in a scenario involving artificial intelligence. Photo by Jon Catherwood-Ginn for Virginia Tech.

    The workshops addressed topics including privacy, transparency, fairness, accountability, autonomy, and the societal impacts of AI systems. Rather than presenting ethics as a set of rules to memorize, the project encouraged participants to wrestle with real-world situations and competing perspectives.

    One participant reflected, "I realized in my previous internship that my AI development would be used in a context that was not aligned with my ethical values and in a way that had not been disclosed to me in advance." The student said that the realization led to a decision: "I declined the follow-on job offer."

    For Eldardiry, moments like that demonstrate the value of experiential learning.

    "My favorite outcome is that learning through theatre really brought emotion into the experience," she said. "It allowed participants to connect at a much deeper level with the abstract concepts."

    Storytelling and role-playing exercises encouraged students to consider AI-related decisions from the perspectives of developers, users, policymakers, and affected communities. Case studies highlighted ethical tradeoffs, while reflection activities helped participants connect broad ethical principles to AI applications they encounter in everyday life, Eldardiry and Catherwood-Ginn said.

This photo shows a young woman seated with her head tilted slightly back. A young man stands in front of her with a finger at her neck, as if checking her pulse.
Students participating in an applied theatre workshop perform an artificial intelligence-related scene. Photo by Jon Catherwood-Ginn for Virginia Tech.

    Interviews conducted after the workshops suggest that participants developed a broader and more nuanced understanding of AI's potential benefits and risks.

    "Personal storytelling allowed participants to articulate ethical dilemmas rooted in specific lived experiences," said Catherwood-Ginn. "By exploring how abstract concepts such as privacy, trustworthiness, and transparency show up in people's everyday use of AI, participants were able to understand those principles in human terms."

    Workshop participants also created and performed original scenes exploring AI's influence on areas such as education, healthcare, and hiring practices. These scenarios provided what Catherwood-Ginn described as a "playful, safe, and easily mutable medium" for examining how society might maximize AI's benefits while minimizing harmful consequences.

    The approach appears to resonate with students. One workshop participant noted that the experience differed dramatically from what they expected.

    "When I read 'AI Ethics,' I thought it was just going to be a lecture," the participant said. "But it was not like that. It was mind-tingling for us because we were being involved more in it. I really enjoyed it."

    The research team is now analyzing interview data from workshop participants to better understand how applied theatre illuminates ethical reasoning, shifts attitudes concerning AI, and affects participants' sense of agency in shaping AI design and policy. They also plan to publish their findings and develop a research-backed workshop model that can be adapted for use by other groups navigating AI-related decisions.

    As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, Eldardiry and Catherwood-Ginn believe meaningful conversations about its future require more than technical expertise alone. Their project demonstrates how storytelling, imagination, and human connection can help people engage more deeply with some of the most important questions facing society today.

By McKenna Slocum, Center for Communicating Science student intern