Unlikely allies: ChatGPT and higher education assessment

Abstract

In the context of higher education, the emergence and spread of generative AI, including Large Language Models (LLMs), is revolutionising our relationship with knowledge. From spell-check and formatting tasks to rapid literature reviews, all forms of written assessments and even assessment feedback can be produced at the click of a button. We could understandably marvel at this new technology as an equaliser (at least, for those who have access to it). Second-language learners can write with native fluency. Non-traditional learners can overcome casual discrimination and academic elitism. Working class and mature learners can transition back into higher education. All this without recourse to pernicious ‘essay mills’. Yet, what of assessment? If Generative AI writes submissions for students and then marks them for lecturers, is the assessment dead? If so, what will become of learning developers - are their roles also dead, joining both assessment and the lecture in the academic afterlife? In this opinion piece we acknowledge those concerns but balance them with a message of hope. Generative AI and learning development may seem unlikely allies but there is still time to forge an alliance in the name of impactful learning and we conclude with three recommendations on how this might be achieved.