Conversational AI in Higher Education: Opportunities, Challenges, and Ethical Considerations

Artificial Intelligence, in particular conversational artificial intelligence (AI), is revolutionizing higher education. The commercialization and popularization of these tools has catapulted its adoption. It offers personalized student learning, support to academic and professional staff, and the streamlining administrative tasks. This rapidly developing technology promises to significantly influence the higher educational landscape. An interpretive synthesis of the current application of conversational artificial intelligence in higher education was guided by a state-of-the-art literature review. The aim of the research study was to evaluate academics perspective of conversational AI use and its perceived benefits and challenges, in four different countries (South Africa, Hungary, Lebanon, and Wales). It was found that less than half of the respondents employed conversational AI in teaching, whereas most of the respondents utilized it for research support. The preference for using conversational artificial intelligence tools in research rather than in teaching—particularly among younger academics and those favoring remote working environments—suggests a future trajectory where AI could become more central in academic research than in traditional teaching methods. Furthermore, it was found that significantly more of those who do not use conversational AI for teaching, prefer teaching face to face, whereas those using conversational AI to enhance their teaching, most were neutral about their preferred mode of delivery. Despite some of the concerns raised by some academics, most viewed it its numerous potential advantages for teaching and research, positively. The study, however, did raise concerns regarding the ethical integration and adoption of these technologies in academic settings.