Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its Potential Impact on the Future of Higher Education - preliminary paper

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Elsa

Artificial Intelligence technologies are challenging higher education after the global pandemic by enabling rapid, high-quality generation of text, images, music, and coding responses. The discussion argues that, even with protocol requirements for acknowledging AI-derived text, the speed and accessibility of generative tools justify redesigning curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment. Learning outcomes are proposed to shift from memorisation and recall toward higher-order thinking such as critical analysis, evaluation, resilience, creativity, problem solving, and verbal communication and computer literacy. The paper reviews literature on risks and threats alongside opportunities to enhance learning through emerging AI.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Context

Purpose and Scope

Risks, Threats, and Opportunities

Implications for Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Assessment

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its Potential Impact on the Future of Higher Education By Lorraine Bennett∗ & Ali Abusalem± Still rebounding from the impact of the global pandemic, the higher education sector is being challenged even further by the next wave of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. These technologies have the power to generate in a matter of seconds, quality text, images, music and coding responses to questions or prompts entered into an online chat box. Currently, one of the most accessible and popular text generators is OpenAI’s ChatGPT which was released in November 2022. Early evaluation indicates that the quality of the responses exceed standard pass rates for comparable university assessments. Even if academic protocols mandate that text cited from AI sources should be acknowledged and referenced as any other source material, the speed, accessibility and high quality of the AI material justifies a rethink of the purpose of higher education and a redesign of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. An initial suggestion being promoted in the sector is that learning outcomes and assessments should move away from a focus on content memorisation and recall, to development of higher order thinking skills such as critical analysis, evaluation, resilience, creativity, problem solving, appraising and mastery of verbal communication and computer literacy. This preliminary paper examines some of the literature to date, which discusses potential risks and threats, as well as the opportunities to enhance learning, embedded in this new wave of emerging AI technologies in higher education. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence technologies, generative text software, implications for curriculum, pedagogy and assessment design. Introduction The advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, such as ChatGPT, is poised to revolutionise the way we think about education. By allowing access to personalised, interactive learning experiences, AI-driven education promises to revolutionise the way students learn and educators teach. AI-driven technologies such as ChatGPT offer the potential to create personalised, interactive learning environments that are tailored to individual learning styles, interests, and needs. This shift away from traditional learning paradigms could fundamentally transform the way in which students learn and educators teach, providing unprecedented opportunities to engage with and learn from one another. The impact of AI-driven education technologies will be felt on a global scale, as it has the potential to revolutionise the way education is delivered and experienced around the world. ∗Managing Director, Lorraine Bennett Learning and Teaching Consultancy, Australia. ±Senior Lecturer, Victorian Institute of Technology, Australia. This introduction was created in under three seconds as a result of a simple request entered in OpenAI’ s online Playground in early 2023. The question posted was ‘Write an opening paragraph or two which positions the impact of AI technologies such as ChatGPT as a major shift in the future of education globally’. Open AI’s response is included in the opening of this paper to illustrate the capacity and power of AI text generative software. On the whole, it offers a reasonable introduction to the subject, although it is quite formulaic and repetitive. A more skilfully worded prompt or request would have harvested a higher quality response. This assumption can be tested by repeating the activity with an improved question. This preliminary paper approaches the topic of ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its Potential Impact on the Future of Higher Education’ from a broad perspective. It provides a brief overview of the history of AI in education and discusses some of the risks, threats and opportunities for learning reported in popular and academic literature. The focus of the investigation is on the impact of AI on the higher education sector in the short

FAQs

How does generative AI affect higher education according to the paper?

It can quickly produce high-quality responses to prompts, which challenges how students engage with learning and how educators design teaching and assessment.

What change in learning outcomes is proposed?

The paper suggests moving away from content memorisation and recall toward higher-order thinking skills such as critical analysis, evaluation, resilience, creativity, and effective communication.

What does the paper examine regarding AI in education?

It reviews literature on risks and threats as well as opportunities for enhancing learning embedded in emerging AI technologies.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Elsa