Exploring the role and ethical concerns of generative AI in doctoral education at the University of Ghana

The integration of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into research, teaching, and learning within Ghanaian universities remains underexplored, particularly with regard to context-specific ethical considerations. This study addresses this gap by investigating the relevance of GenAI in doctoral-level academia, the ethical challenges it poses, and potential strategies for its responsible implementation. Employing a qualitative, exploratory case study design grounded in normative ethics theory, the research involved semi-structured phone interviews with 12 participants, six academic instructors and six PhD candidates from the University of Ghana, selected through purposive judgmental sampling. The research followed rigorous ethical protocols. Findings indicate that GenAI can significantly enhance academic productivity by improving research quality, facilitating literature reviews, streamlining data analysis, supporting teaching preparation, and enabling personalized learning experiences. Nonetheless, participants identified several ethical concerns, including threats to academic integrity, data privacy issues, algorithmic bias, a lack of clear institutional and national AI policies. To address these issues, participants recommended measures such as training for staff and students on ethical AI use and the development of comprehensive institutional guidelines. This study contributes to the growing discourse on GenAI ethics in higher education in Ghana, highlighting the need for tailored, context-aware approaches to ensure its ethical and effective integration.