Is AI the solution to the problems that make higher education “ill” in the first place? Towards a technology-agnostic, future-proof approach

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) is being deployed in higher education at an unprecedented scale and pace as a silver bullet for the “sick” higher education system. This opinion paper examines whether and to what extent AI is the solution to the problems that make higher education purportedly outmoded and/or dysfunctional in the first place. It begins by identifying two persistent challenges confronting the sector: uneven quality and enduring inequities in access. The discussion then turns to the deeper structural causes of these challenges, before examining four potential roles that AI is commonly assumed to play in addressing them. In doing so, the paper critically explores whether AI can meaningfully remedy higher education’s underlying problems, and concludes by proposing a technology-agnostic, future-proof approach to transforming higher education in more sustainable and principled ways. The position of this paper is that the future of higher education should not hinge on any particular technology, no matter how cutting-edge it may appear. Accordingly, a fundamental principle for the selection and use of technology in higher education is proposed, whereby a technology should be adopted only when it enables educators to do what they otherwise cannot, or when it demonstrably performs better than educators at an affordable cost, or when it performs as well as educators while reducing costs. Higher education should remain open to technological advancement, but it must not allow itself to be defined by it.