Is It Ethical to Let AI Write the Project Scope?

At a recent presentation, a participant suggested that having AI write an entire project document, such as the project scope, raises an ethical issue. It is a fair concern. But is using AI to create the document actually unethical? Of course, there needs to be transparency. If someone presents an AI-generated document as their own work, that presents an ethical issue. But if the use of AI is disclosed, I don’t believe using AI itself is unethical.

My preferred approach is collaboration. A project team member develops the scope with input from others and then uses AI to check its accuracy, consistency, and completeness. AI becomes another contributor to the process rather than a substitute for human responsibility.

However, we might be missing the larger point. Is the objective to ensure that people write project documents or to produce accurate, comprehensive documents that help us deliver successful projects? Suppose you had two choices. The first is a scope document written by people, perhaps with AI help, but containing errors, omissions, and ambiguities. The second is generated completely by AI but is accurate, complete, and clearly reflects the intended scope.

Which would you choose?

I would choose the better document regardless of how it was created. Having AI create a project document is not unethical if disclosed. The important point is for project managers to ensure accurate and complete project documents regardless of how they are created and a person must remain accountable for the result. AI may change how documents are generated, but people still need to be accountable.