Research on Digital Ethical Dilemmas of Applied University Students in Beijing from the Perspective of AIGC-Empowered Education

The rapid development of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AIGC) has led to its widespread application in the field of education. While students in applied universities enjoy the technological convenience, it has also triggered a series of digital ethical challenges, including blurred boundaries of academic integrity, difficulty in distinguishing information quality, increased technological dependence, and leakage of private data. Currently, due to the imperfect construction of relevant laws, regulations, and institutional systems in both China and higher education institutions, students' understanding of digital ethics remains unclear, forming a dilemma of "technology application first, ethical norms lagging behind." This study focuses on students from applied universities in Beijing as the research subjects. Employing research methods such as web crawling, questionnaire surveys, and in-depth interviews, it collects primary data from applied universities in Beijing to deeply analyze the ethical issues students encounter while using AIGC tools and their underlying causes. The research identifies four major dilemmas faced by students in AIGC applications: unclear cognition, degradation of core competencies, lack of institutional norms, and insufficient educational guidance. In response to these issues, this paper proposes optimizing pathways including constructing a multi-level digital ethics education system, building a thinking cultivation system to prevent technological dependence, improving layered and categorized management systems, and strengthening the systematic development of teaching staff. It aims to provide theoretical reference and practical insights for applied universities to cultivate talents possessing both high professional competence and high digital literacy.