As with any information source, it is important to take a critical view of content produced by artificial intelligence technologies. Artificial intelligence applications are not primary sources of information—they generate information based on information in their database. They are programmed to provide a response based on relevance, whether or not it is based on accurate data. They do not engage with information the way humans do, and they do not operate according to moral or ethical principles, although they will occasionally mimic those principles.

Below is an example of an AI query

Note: Lord Butterworth died in 2003 and Lord Radcliffe died in 1977. The Faculty of Arts Building is not named after him.

Generative AI technologies present opportunities for learning and teaching. This section provides some examples.

Critical analysis of AI-generated content

AI can be used to help students develop critical analysis skills and evaluative judgement. Options include:

• Engage students to generate text using AI-generative models and ask them to appraise the quality of the output. The appraisal could look at relevance, authenticity, bias, cohesion, and consistency of the output. Modelling such appraisal process can develop students’ cognitive abilitiesLink opens in a new window to evaluate AI-generated output and promote AI literacyLink opens in a new window. Students could find limitations in the output and develop an understanding of the standards of their written tasks.
• Ask students to generate a number of introduction paragraphs, then assess them using a provided rubric or set of criteria. What are the features that make a good introduction?
• Generate a range of example texts that can be used for structured comparison (David Nicol has some useful resources Link opens in a new windowon this). Students analyse the similarities and differences between multiple responses to a question. In medicine, for example, students could compare different treatment plans. In business, they could compare different financial reports. This can lead to insights about the topic being written about, different ways of approaching a written task, and the advantages and disadvantages of AI writing tools.

AI-assisted creative approaches

Generative AI tools have the potential to be used creatively to advance learning and teaching across disciplines. Examples may include:

• Engaging students to use AI tools to generate texts on a topic for different audience groups and asking them to compare and contrast the language used.
• Using AI tools for creative writing. For example, students could write the first paragraph, the AI tool could write the second paragraph, and so on.

AI-assisted study strategies

• Using AI tools to support students’ independent study. Researchinto the use of ChatGPT in medical licensing examsLink opens in a new window suggests that students could use AI tools to generate responses on study concepts and help them structure their knowledge around each concept by comparing and contrasting.
• Using AI tools to implement effective study strategiesLink opens in a new window. Examples include: generating quizzes and flashcards to support retrieval practiceLink opens in a new window and generating prompts to elaborate an idea.
• Using AI tools as a language learning companionLink opens in a new window for second-language learners.
• More ideas on how AI can be used in teaching.Link opens in a new window

The use of AI technologies has ethical implications that should not be ignored. For example, ChatGPT builds economic value by making use of data generated by others, including its own users. OpenAI, the company that makes ChatGPT, has received billions of dollars of investment fundingLink opens in a new window from a range of investors, including Microsoft, Elon Musk and others.

This means that decision-making and design choices are not free from political and economic influence, and that the way ChatGPT works is not accessible to the public in order to protect its intellectual property. Further, running ChatGPT consumes huge amounts of energyLink opens in a new window and is, therefore, environmentally destructive.

At the same time, there are ethical implications of not using (or stopping others from using) AI technologies, such as ChatGPT. Such technologies are already being embedded into everyday software and devices (e.g. within Microsoft Office, Google Maps, SMS) and it is becoming difficult if not impossible to avoid them. Educators have a responsibility to support students to learn how to navigate the present and the future.

There are no simple answers to whether and how AI should be dealt with in relation to learning, teaching and assessment. It is also important for staff and students to inform themselves about the opportunities and risks of these technologies and, where possible, to discuss them with students in relation to their particular unit and educational context.