Этика использования искусственного интеллекта в качественных исследованиях

ИНТЕРакция. ИНТЕРвью. ИНТЕРпретация. 2026. Т. 18. № 2. С. 30–50.

Bogdanov T.

The article addresses the ethical and methodological aspects of using artificial intelligence (AI) in qualitative sociological research. The widespread use of generative AI in scientific research has sparked an interdisciplinary debate regarding the instrumental efficiency and moral permissibility of applying this technology in the processes of acquiring scientific knowledge. The most active debates are taking place within the social sciences, particularly among researchers employing qualitative methodology. The aim of this article is to identify the vectors of qualitative methodology transformation and to outline the contours of new ethical dilemmas arising from delegating interpretative labour to neural networks.The formation of a new research ethics is examined through the intersection of two vectors: institutional regulation (“top-down”) and the adaptation of AI in actual field conditions (“bottom-up”). It is shown that artificial intelligence is transitioning from the status of an auxiliary tool to the role of an “epistemic medium” and “co-researcher”, shaping the model of the augmented researcher. The author's position, developed throughout the article, is that the ethics of AI use cannot be reduced either to normative prohibitions or to techno-optimistic acceptance: for researchers integrating AI into their practice, the productive path lies in reflexive use grounded in the principle of double reflexivity. As a main conclusion, it is argued that the ethical use of AI cannot be reduced to formal conventions. The proposed solution is the transformation of the methodological transparency concept from a formal declaration into a detailed “audit trail” documenting all stages of interaction between the algorithm and the researcher, who retains exclusive responsibility for the validity of the sociological knowledge produced.

Keywords: качественные исследования, эпистемология социальных наук, epistemology of social sciences, исследовательская этика, research ethics, art methods in qualitative research, генеративный искусственный интеллект, methodological transparency, generative artificial intelligence, методологическая прозрачность

Publication based on the results of: Monitoring of artificial intelligence technologies and digital transformation of economy and society (2025)