The use of generative AI tools, including ChatGPT, that can work as a personal assistant providing information and writing essays is already widely embraced among university students and is transforming learning.
But a change of mindset is needed among academics to facilitate greater investment in artificial intelligence and enable universities to fully meet the needs of a changed and changing global environment, the International Association of Universities 2024 International Conference was told last week.
Universities can better harness AI to reverse weakening social trust in higher education, experts discussing the complexity of merging the two sectors told the conference in Tokyo.
Professor Huang Ronghuai, from the faculty of education at Beijing Normal University in China, said: “AI learning is critical, especially in the sciences and marketing fields, given its ability to process massive data.”
“But also there is a mismatch between universities and the labour market. The World Economic Forum indicates that 23% of global jobs will change in the next five years due to industry transformation with the rise of AI.
“Companies are looking for students with AI skills,” Ronghuai said.
Benefits vs risks
Indeed, the digital revolution and the advent of AI-powered language models such as ChatGPT has launched a debate in universities that pits the benefits of the technology against the challenges it poses to higher education.