The Potential of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is seeping into many aspects of our everyday lives, with common internet applications, smartphones and even household appliances. Within education, AI is a rapidly emerging field and there is a strong potential for AI to greatly extend and enhance teaching and learning in higher education (Crompton et al., 2020). AI is defined as “computing systems that are able to engage in human-like processes such as learning, adapting, synthesizing, self-correction and use of data for complex processing tasks” (Popenici & Kerr, 2017). In the Horizon Report 2020 report (Brown et al., 2020), AI is listed as one of six technologies with the potential for high impact in higher education. The Horizon Report (2020), is an annual publication that examines the major trends in educational technology that are shaping global higher education. This paper will highlight some of the ways AI is supporting both students and faculty members including bespoke learning, intelligent tutoring systems, facilitating collaboration, and automated grading. This is followed by a section on ethical implications.