Ethics, AI, and digitalisation in career guidance
In March 2026, the Swedish guidance association held a webinar on the ethical effects of digitalisation in career guidance. Practitioners discussed how AI is reshaping the profession. Although the focus was AI and ethics, the discussion became broader: a reflection on responsibility, knowledge, and the human role in an increasingly digital society. In this article, study counsellor Joakim Cao reflects on some of the questions raised during the seminar.
Guidance within a digital flow
Experienced colleagues described earlier practices as more structured, face-to-face, and print-based. Information was not always immediately available. It had to be gathered, processed, and communicated through professional practice.
Today, guidance seekers meet a reality in which information is continuously available. Social media, chatbots, and digital platforms provide immediate and personalised advice on education and careers. Informal guidance has therefore grown significantly in both scope and influence.
This creates new challenges. Guidance is no longer place-bound but exists within a continuous digital flow. What do professionalism and trust mean when almost anyone can offer guidance shaped by algorithms, platforms and commercial interests? What emerges is not simply competition for attention but a shift in where authority is created.
From permission to responsibility
The discussions highlighted that many practitioners are not looking for permission to use AI. Rather, they are looking for practical guidance, ethical frameworks, and greater confidence in evaluating AI-generated information.
Over the past few years, I have seen how generative AI can support career guidance and counselling. Career practitioners have shared examples around efficiency, creativity, and simplifying parts of the work. My own view is mixed. I am both an AI enthusiast and an AI critic. I try to understand how AI can be used in meaningful and constructive ways, while also paying attention to the risks, limitations, and ethical questions that come with technology.
Participants also explored the risk that AI could reinforce existing inequalities. Those who understand how to use AI critically may gain advantages in education and career planning, while those with limited digital literacy risk being left behind. This places new demands on guidance professionals.
Actual intelligence in a time of AI
Career guidance takes place at the intersection of competing interests: the needs of the individual, organisational frameworks, labour market demands, and political priorities. Career practitioners must navigate between different loyalties: to the individual, to the profession, and to the system. The ethical task is therefore not to simplify complexity, but to remain within it.
Ethics in guidance is not a checklist, but a professional practice that requires reflection and courage. It involves balancing competing considerations, understanding the consequences of one’s decisions, and taking responsibility for them.
In a time of artificial intelligence, we need to bring human intelligence to the foreground. Conversations about AI should not only focus on what technology can do, but also on human knowledge, judgement, responsibility, reflection, and the ability to think for ourselves.
What should remain human?
AI can support administration, analysis, labour market intelligence, and access to information. But guidance cannot be reduced to quick answers. Professional judgement, empathy, and ethical responsibility remain central.
The questions extend beyond guidance. What should we educate for in a time when AI can generate answers, texts, images, music, videos, ideas, and analyses?
A shift becomes clear: from producing answers to understanding, interpreting, and evaluating them. This does not reduce the need for guidance. It deepens it. In a time of rapid answers, our ability to create understanding, context, and direction becomes absolutely crucial.
Author: Insight article written for Euroguidance Sweden by Joakim Cao
Joakim Cao works as a Career and Academic Advisor at Lund University. He is also engaged in educational development projects exploring the use of ICT in career guidance, including www.digicao.nu and www.vagledarlabbet.se
