HEIs teachers' and students' current experience of AI introduction in teaching and learning

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are increasingly incorporating artificial i ntelligence (AI) into their learning setup. In this paper, we analyze the results of a survey posed to 152 Higher Education (HE) students and 136 HE educators, of different scientific b ackgrounds, to emphasize the current incorporation of AI in the teaching and learning processes. The results reveal distinct viewpoints from both parties, reflecting diversified l evels o f e xperience, presumptions, and uneasiness. Thirty two percent of the teachers, completing the survey, confirms using AI. Approximately 50% reveal they notice their students using AI to (i) automate routine tasks in or out-ofclass, including check correctness of answers, obtaining real-time feedback; (ii) personalize learning tasks, such as write essays or projects and to illustrate them, and create presentations. A smaller percentage reveals students using AI to produce video content and contrast information learned in class. Alternative means, encompassing using AI at home, to study, to gather information, to sum up ideas in texts, are identified by most teachers as being employed by their students. Students using AI outnumber the teachers, though there are significant d ifferences in some responses, when compared to the teachers' perceptions, for the sames questions. Most of the students prefer AI to study at home, to obtain information to improve or to check an answer. Then a significant number does not exploit AI either to create presentations, write an essay or project, illustrate a project, producing videos, or to contrast information obtained in classes with that collected by AI tools. Regardless of these differences, both parties agree and strongly agree (with 79% of students and 86% of teachers) that AI will affect the HEIs educational process in the future.