DIGITAL DIVIDES IN CHINESE HE: LEVERAGING AI AS STUDENT’S PARTNER (AIASSP) TO REDUCE PIRACY

Abstract

This article explores the educational significance of the closure of Z-library, an online platform enabling digital book piracy, through qualitative research with 103 postgraduates in a Sino-British Higher Education Institute (HEI) in China. Analysis found students viewed digital piracy as a tool to expedite academic practice and were weighed the criminal implications of the platform carefully. Consequently, the article suggests that universities need to consider further socioeconomically disadvantaged students alongside library resourcing and digital skills training. It recommends Artificial Intelligence (AI) and an ‘AI as Students Partners (AIasSP)’ philosophy as a solution to reduce student reliance on digital piracy. The article, therefore, highlights the potential of AI for improving skills-based study, administration, and improving the quality of the student experience. However, it concludes by discussing the ethical and privacy concerns raised by such an approach in Higher Education (HE), stressing the need for a multidisciplinary view of responsible AI as reshaping literacy and information retrieval practices across a process of lifelong learning.