AI amplifies the tough question: What is higher education really for?

Abstract

The dominant response within higher education to the emergence of free online text- and graphic-generating software has been a concern with identifying AI usage in students’ work. We argue that this is both a waste of time and neglects our educational responsibilities. A police-catch-punish approach to AI, as with the use of this process in relation to plagiarism, ignores the broader purposes of higher education. If higher education is understood as being a space for nurturing transformative relationships with knowledge, AI can be harnessed to enhance learning experiences. Such an approach would also enable a critical understanding of the limitations and ethical deliberations around AI usage. Those critical academics who emphasise transformative learning over surveillance-driven approaches are likely to foster more meaningful higher education experiences.