- AI Prohibitions and Ethical Risks
Key Point
Do not use AI for unacceptable purposes like manipulation, unfair ranking, or exploiting vulnerable groups — these are strictly forbidden.
Examples
Course Instructors
✅ Explain to students why using AI to impersonate others or to manipulate information is unethical and not allowed.
✅ If relevant to the course, include clear statements in the course syllabus about prohibited AI uses that could harm or exploit others.
❌ Don’t use AI to develop tools that could rank or score students unfairly based on personal data.
❌ Don’t allow students to use AI to create fake identities/profiles or misleading survey responses.
Students
✅ Use AI responsibly — only for tasks allowed by your instructor and the University’s policy.
✅ Report any peer who uses AI to manipulate results or impersonate others.
❌ Don’t use AI to create fake references, fake participants, or fake survey data.
❌ Don’t use AI tools to rank or evaluate classmates or others unfairly.
Researchers
✅ Check that any AI systems you use or develop do not exploit vulnerable populations or manipulate participants.
✅ Stay informed about the EU AI Act’s list of prohibited AI practices.
❌ Don’t upload sensitive data to AI systems that could rank individuals or manipulate them.
❌ Don’t develop AI tools that use subliminal techniques or social scoring — these are banned under EU law.
Excerpt from the Official Guidelines
Certain AI applications pose unacceptable risks and are strictly prohibited at the University of Cyprus in accordance with the EU AI Act1. These include:
- subliminal AI manipulation, which influences behavior without user awareness
- social scoring AI, which ranks individuals based on personal behavior or socioeconomic background
- AI that exploits vulnerabilities, particularly those that discriminate based on age, disabilities, or socioeconomic status.
The University of Cyprus enforces strict compliance with these regulations to maintain ethical AI use.
Last Updated on 27 August, 2025
