The Promise and Peril of ChatGPT in Higher Education: Opportunities, Challenges, and Design Implications

Abstract

A growing number of students in higher education are using ChatGPT for various educational purposes, ranging from seeking information to writing essays. Although many universities have officially banned the use of ChatGPT because of its potential harm and unintended consequences, it is still important to uncover how students leverage ChatGPT for learning, what challenges emerge, and how we can make better use of ChatGPT in higher education. Thus, we conducted focus group workshops and a series of participatory design sessions with thirty students who have actively interacted with ChatGPT for one semester in university and with other five stakeholders (e.g., professors, AI experts). Based on these, this paper identifies real opportunities and challenges of utilizing and designing ChatGPT for higher education.