Generative Artificial Intelligence: Implications and Considerations for Higher Education Practice

Abstract

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) has emerged as a transformative force in higher education, offering both challenges and opportunities. This paper explores the multifaceted impact of GAI on academic work, with a focus on student life and, in particular, the implications for international students. While GAI, exemplified by models like ChatGPT, has the potential to revolutionize education, concerns about academic integrity have arisen, leading to debates on the use of AI detection tools. This essay highlights the difficulties in reliably detecting AI-generated content, raising concerns about potential false accusations against students. It also discusses biases within AI models, emphasizing the need for fairness and equity in AI-based assessments with a particular emphasis on the disproportionate impact of GAI on international students, who already face biases and discrimination. It also highlights the potential for AI to mitigate some of these challenges by providing language support and accessibility features. Finally, this essay acknowledges the disruptive potential of GAI in higher education and calls for a balanced approach that addresses both the challenges and opportunities it presents by emphasizing the importance of AI literacy and ethical considerations in adopting AI technologies to ensure equitable access and positive outcomes for all students. We offer a coda to Ng et al.’s AI competency framework, mapped to the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy, through a lens of cultural competence with AI as a means of supporting educators to use these tools equitably in their teaching.