Conversational Artificial Intelligence: A Catalyst for Rethinking Assessment in Higher Education

Abstract

Conversational Artificial Intelligence has disrupted higher education by fundamentally altering its landscape. Fuelled by natural language processing and machine learning this technology has gained widespread adoption particularly since the release of ChatGPT in November 2022. As universities embrace digital transformation, assessment practices must evolve to align with the capabilities of Artificial Intelligence-driven chatbots and virtual assistants. This paper explores how conversational artificial intelligence impacts higher education, in particular, student assessment. A fundamental shift in assessment and evaluation of student competencies is necessary to not only consider knowledge retention but also critical thinking, communication, and adaptability skills. A review of the literature was conducted to understand how assignments should change due to the emergence of this disruptive technology. Conversational Artificial Intelligence and its application within the higher education context is uncertain, with disparate practices—in terms of ethical consideration and understanding—across the sector. A case study was conducted in which MSc Management students undertaking a specific module were tasked to use three Artificial Intelligence tools in their report writing of a business, to verify the sources and content provided by the Artificial Intelligence tool, and to critically evaluate the process as well as the output received for each prompt. The paper proposes a collaborative approach to navigate the ethical implementation and utilization of conversational Artificial Intelligence in higher education, advocating for the co-creation of guidelines through forums like Knowledge Cafés, stressing the need to rethink student assignments and its assessment and the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies by students for assignments.