Investigating academics’ attitudes towards ChatGPT: A qualitative study

Abstract

ChatGPT, at the forefront of artificial intelligence advancement, has caused excitement and scepticism within academic spheres due to its potential to affect academic processes. Understanding attitudes towards ChatGPT could help manage expectations and concerns for ChatGPT in academia, predict behaviour and inform policy. This study aimed to develop an understanding of university academics’ attitudes towards ChatGPT. A total of 11 university academics participated in semi-structured interviews. Data analysis found three main themes: (a) ethics, (b) changes to academic processes and (c) accessibility and inclusivity. Results showed academics had positive attitudes towards ChatGPT overall; however, they held negative attitudes towards the unethical use of the technology. Key findings included discrepancies in perceptions of academics’ personal ethical use of ChatGPT compared to unethical use by others. Furthermore, academics viewed ChatGPT as a useful tool for saving time and enhancing research processes and student learning. Finally, ChatGPT could increase equity among diverse groups, though it should be used with caution. Future studies could conduct a longitudinal study and recruit a larger and wider sample exploring specific and/or multidisciplinary domains for research diversity and the generalisability of findings. Implications for practice or policy: Academic policy and codes of conduct concerning the use of ChatGPT in research and education can be refined to address key ethical concerns, such as plagiarism. Academic educators and researchers can save time and improve processes using ChatGPT to attain better work-life balance and thus potentially improve the quality of their work.