Is using artificial intelligence tools for academic work cheating? Student perceptions, ethics, and the impact on academic performance and critical thinking

Artificial Intelligence has brought about a very ethical dilemma in the sphere of Education questioning whether using AI tools in academic achievements is considered a form of cheating or not, evoking Academic Integrity, Student Perceptions, and the effect that the use of AI tools may have on Critical Thinking Skills and Academic Performance. According to the recent research, AI integration in academic settings has kept pace with the regulatory frameworks more rapidly, and thus, ethical practices, assessment, and institutional reactions are not consistent. The proposed research uses the PRISMA framework to undertake a Systematic Literature Review of the recent studies in the area of AI Ethics in Education, Academic Misconduct, and Educational Technology. The publications in the various academic databases were screened, filtered, and analyzed to determine the emerging trends in AI Governance, Responsible AI, Learning Analytics, and Digital Assessment. The results indicate that student perceptions of AI use are neutral, including the view as a valid resource of learning assistance to the view as a cheating method, depending on the type of the task, transparency, and design of the assessment. There is also some evidence that over-dependence on AI can be a factor in Cognitive Offloading, decreased independent reasoning, and altered academic behavior, and that it can be helpful to use AI guided. The paper concludes that the future of higher education is in the formulation of concrete ethical standards and the encouragement of AI Literacy and reshaping assessment methods that foster Human-AI Collaboration without compromising originality, equity, and intellectual growth.