The integration of AI in education is no longer a matter of choice, but a reality that we must embrace. Rather than shying away, we should focus on leveraging the opportunities it presents.
There has been much debate about the future of AI including calls for its development to be paused in the hope that regulatory architecture can catch up with developments in the technology. This piece isn’t about that debate, though we need to be mindful that this is the backdrop to the conversation within the higher education sector. But whether the adoption of AI-driven technology advances slowly or quickly, it’s clear that it is shaping our present and will continue to shape our future.
It is now over 25 years ago that IBMs DeepBlue beat chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov. Since then, technology, smart devices, AI, and big data have become increasingly sophisticated and pervasive in both our homes and workplaces.
AI represents a significant development in how we research, teach and learn, yet much of the debate within universities has focused on the present threat of AI to maintaining academic standards in assessment. Though these concerns are genuine, the focus of the debate needs to move to the longer term, macro issues of what AI means for universities and academic practice.
