The Impact of AI on Higher Education

We’ve all heard the term, “AI”, being used in conjunction with higher education before. More so, in the last couple of years. A truly revolutionary feat of computer science, it is all set to become a key component of software over the coming decades. With all the buzz going around, there’s understandably a good deal of confusion – and apprehension – regarding what AI is and what impact it might have on the academic world. Especially, when you have quotes like “a year spent in artificial intelligence is enough to make one believe in God” going around.

So, what is AI?

AI stands for Artificial Intelligence. It refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines, that are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. Picture movies like Ex-Machina, Wall-E and I, Robot. The term may also be applied to any machine that exhibits traits associated with a human mind, such as learning, problem-solving and critical thinking. Imagine the vast possibilities that this brings to the field of Ed-Tech, especially when one of the biggest drawbacks of technology is its inability to think within the affective domain.

To get your mind’s juices flowing, here are 4 ways in which AI can influence, inspire and impact higher education:

1. Student Success – From attracting potential students to guiding existing students towards outcome attainment, AI helps drive learner development and success with ease. For instance, college recruiting teams will be able to better focus their efforts by creating algorithms that can predict the applicants most likely to be accepted. Similarly, they will also be able to determine who is most likely to progress, graduate, and become engaged alumni. What’s more, students will be able to assess their professional skills and access personalized content to help fill gaps between their career goals and existing studies.

2. Teacher Empowerment – Whether it’s a savvy Question Bot that answers student questions (or assigns them to a relevant professor), or expert reading software that leverages language detection, text-to-speech, and translation, AI builds an environment that empowers teachers and students to work smarter. Teachers can leverage specialized assessment programs that aid in authoring, proctoring and marking, so as to provide automation, self-based, and a personalized correction. One of AI’s biggest advantages is its ability to ensure exam session integrity on a large scale!

3. Researcher Efficacy – When it comes to building research capabilities, AI is limitless. It equips academicians with a powerful and flexible computing environment to perform studies, without hindrances from the underlying infrastructure. Taking on the role of an excellent AI Assistant, the computer offers cognitive capabilities (like no other) to simplify the research process.

One can analyze hundreds of papers, label each one, rank them according to importance, cite authors, leverage big data and graph analysis. Additionally, collaborate with other researchers from across the world.

• Campus Intelligence – Smart, secure, intuitive, responsive – AI augments university campuses with a repertoire of software and tools to be fully capable. It helps institutions configure, optimize and manage their campus resources by pairing the physical infrastructure with digital technology, to deliver a revolutionary and futuristic campus experience. International students, in particular, benefit greatly from additional support like query management. By utilizing AI to perform time-intensive tasks, the administration may re-focus their time and energy on improving student experiences.

The education sector (local and international) is abuzz with AI chatter. Institutions have already begun to develop fully-fledged AI strategies and set aside large budgets for the implantation of the same. University stakeholders are not only aware but in agreement, that AI has the potential to make learning fool-proof. The next 10-15 years will be critical in terms of its application, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store.