AI and AE: Aristotelian Virtue Ethics at the Core of the Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in Lower Secondary Education

Abstract

Abstract—The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into education constitutes not merely a technological development but a profound anthropological and pedagogical transformation reshaping learners’ relationships with knowledge, truth, judgment, agency and community. Although contemporary institutional frameworks (AI Act, EU Guidelines, National Documents) emphasize risk mitigation, human oversight, fundamental rights, they largely remaining external to ethical formation in lived school practice. This study addresses a clear scientific gap: the absence of a coherent pedagogical model capable of foregrounding how AI ethics is understood and explicitly enacted in classrooms. It is, thus, situated within the genre of conceptual research as it advances theory through normative reasoning, philosophical analysis and interpretative engagement with institutional and educational discourse rather than empirical investigation. The main aim of the study is to propose a reflective, virtue-based pedagogical and philosophical model for AI Ethics Education in secondary education that integrates critical understanding of AI into the core of the educational process addressing AI ethical dilemmas and supporting the holistic development of the school community. It seeks to: a. synthesize Aristotelian virtue ethics with contemporary AI ethics discourse and pedagogical theory, b. propose the in situ co-creation of an Internal School Code of Digital Ethics (ISCDE) as a humanistic guide for cultivating Digital Phronēsis-Prudence, c. elucidate the Code’s pedagogical logic as a tool for responsible AI use, teacher professional empowerment and collective ethical culture formation. The model integrates Aristotelian virtue ethics -mesotēs, hexis proairetikē and phronēsis- (virtue as mean, habituation by deliberative choice, practical prudence) drawing on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics (NE). This foundation is extended through Techno-moral virtues theory, Critical Pedagogy, Multiple Intelligences, Social Constructivism, Holistic Learning and the methodological use of Critical Discourse Analysis and Thematic Analysis. Two school textbooks -the Anthology of Philosophical Texts and Euripides’ Helen serve as pedagogical anchors. The above Aristotelian theory alongside the ontological dilemma of εἶναι–φαίνεσθαι (being-appearing) in Helen is reinterpreted in relation to AI verisimilitude, demonstrating the central role of humanities subjects in cultivating ethical judgment within digital education. Methodologically, the model follows a three-phase conceptual process: Critical Discourse Analysis of official AI texts by teachers as institutional moral literacy; thematic synthesis of values re-signified as virtues; classroom “scenarios” enabling experiential AI habituation. Institutional values are transformed into digital virtues articulated as means between AI deficiency and excess and embodied in the ISCDE, a co-created ongoing pedagogical artifact. An example is given on Digital Liberality, where prompt sharing and attribution practices shift AI use toward communal epistemic contribution. Expected outcomes are multilevel: students cultivate Digital Prudence, moral judgment, balanced AI use and critical agency; teachers develop institutional literacy and professional confidence; schools foster a shared ethical culture of AI governance. Policy recommendations to the Institute of Educational Policy involves advocating the institutionalization of AI Ethics Education as a cross-curricular priority, the integration of Aristotelian ethics and humanities-based reflection into curricula and the strengthening of teacher institutional literacy. The originality of the study lies in defining Digital Phronēsis as a new educational competence for human-centered education in the AI era.