The Greatest Risk Of AI In Higher Education Isn’t Cheating – It’s The Erosion Of Learning Itself
Growing sophistication and autonomy of technology systems means that scientific research can increasingly be automated, potentially leaving people with fewer opportunities to gain skills practicing research methods. NurPhoto/Getty Images BY NIR EISIKOVITS AND JACOB BURLEY Public debate about artificial intelligence in higher education has largely orbited a familiar worry: cheating . Will students use chatbots to write essays? Can instructors tell? Should universities ban the tech? Embrace it? These concerns are understandable. But focusing so much on cheating misses the larger transformation already underway, one that extends far beyond student misconduct and even the classroom. Universities are adopting AI across many areas of institutional life . Some uses are largely invisible, like systems that help allocate resources, flag “at-risk” students , optimize course scheduling or automate routine administrative decisions. Other uses are more noticeable. Students use AI tools to summarize...
