Generative AI is transforming research as well as society at large. But its use also raises critical concerns such as the rise of misinformation, concentration of power and loss of human agency that can threaten the scientific values of accountability, transparency, honesty and fairness. How can AI be assessed from an ethical perspective and what does this mean for research practices? This talk introduces key aspects of AI ethics, while also touching on important related legal issues. We highlight: general risks of AI in a social, economic, legal and environmental sense their relevance to research practices approaches and best practices on how to mitigate those risks The goal is to empower researchers to make their own informed decisions on the responsible use of AI, to foster critical digital literacy and to open further discussion on AI ethics in the scientific community.