Explaining the challenges and opportunities of artificial intelligence in higher education from the point of view of professors and students

Abstract

Higher education is fundamentally related to advances in innovative technologies and high computing capacities of intelligent machines (Bayne, 2008). And artificial intelligence is a booming technology field that can change every aspect of our social interactions (Barakina et al., 2021). In education, artificial intelligence has begun to produce new teaching and learning solutions that are now being tested in various fields (Pedro et al.). Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the ability of a digital machine to perform tasks normally associated with intelligent beings (TKF, 2021). And basically the term artificial intelligence, which was created by John McCarthy in 1955, is defined as a machine with intelligent behavior such as perception, reasoning, learning or communication and the ability to perform human tasks (Chang et al., 2021). Therefore, its explosive growth increasingly changes the ways of interaction, communication, life, learning and work of people (Pedro et al, 2020). Also, artificial intelligence (AI) is defined as a computer system capable of performing certain tasks that were traditionally performed by humans. These systems can include capabilities such as speech recognition, vision, and intelligent behaviors. In the field of education, there are various theories about the use of artificial intelligence that examine its effects on teaching and learning. One of these theories was presented by Zouhaier Slimi in 2023, who examined the impact of artificial intelligence on higher education and its effects on teaching and learning, assessment, ethics, required skills, and career prospects. Also, Helen Crompton and Diane Burke in 2023 presented a systematic review of artificial intelligence in higher education from 2016 to 2022, exploring new trends and different uses of artificial intelligence in the field. Another article entitled "Ethical Artificial Intelligence for Teaching-Learning in Higher Education" by Mohammed Airaj in 2024 examines the ethical aspects of artificial intelligence in higher education and its effects on teaching and learning. These theories suggest that artificial intelligence can significantly reduce the workload of teachers, personalize learning for students, revolutionize assessments, and develop intelligent educational systems. Also, the ethical dimensions of artificial intelligence and the possible effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the future of research and applications of artificial intelligence in education have also been examined.

For this reason, artificial intelligence has attracted the attention of researchers in the field of education and they believe that one of the main goals that AI will pursue is to assist in personal learning or support students based on their learning status, preferences or personal characteristics (Hwang , 2014). Therefore, the use of artificial intelligence in education (AIED) has created new opportunities for designing constructive learning activities and developing programs or more technologically advanced learning environments (Kay, 2012). In addition, artificial intelligence technology and big data are combined for deep mining and analysis of educational data, it can also promote teaching reform and improve teaching quality (Pannu, 2015). Artificial intelligence promotes the development of adaptive learning, and strives to incorpoate all aspects of testing, teaching, learning, and practice into an adaptive learning system to facilitate student learning (Wang, 2021). Also, in addition to the opportunities that artificial intelligence will create in education, it can also lead to challenges, including the implementation of related activities or systems for most researchers and specialists in the fields of computers and education is still a challenge (Hwang et al., 2020). . In recent years, extensive research has been conducted in the field of artificial intelligence in education, which shows the potential and numerous challenges that this technology brings to universities and educational institutions. According to the nature of the topic and research objectives, the current research method is placed in the group of qualitative research with interpretive paradigm. Since the goal was to analyze the lived experience and people's perceptions of the implementation of a phenomenon (plan), therefore, the phenomenology method was used to examine the lived experiences of professors and students of Tehran University. which conforms to the logic and cognitive foundations of this research method (Mohammadpour, 2012). The phenomenology method is one of the qualitative research methods that examines and deeply analyzes the viewpoints, feelings and experiences of the sample group in relation to a certain phenomenon or phenomena (Hatch, 2002; Creswrll, 2012; Creswell, 2014). Sampling method: The sampling method was carried out in a purposeful and criterion manner and theoretical saturation criterion; That is, people were invited to participate who met the important and predetermined criteria desired by the researcher. Based on the purposeful and criteria-based sampling method, the sampling process should usually continue until the new interviews do not add more information to the previous ones and the researcher witnesses the repetition of data patterns according to the desired criteria. Based on this, the data collection continued until a lot of data was obtained from the sample interviews of professors and students of all three mentioned universities. Also, it was tried to maximize the diversity of the participants in the sample. And among the professors and students of Tehran University, interviews were conducted until the data was saturated, 20 people participated, including 9 professors and 11 students. . Artificial intelligence as a powerful tool in higher education leads to the improvement of the quality of teaching and learning. This technology helps professors and students to access up-to-date content faster, categorize content and improve evaluation methods. And artificial intelligence helps to adapt education to individual needs and support the learner, and leads to access to various resources with little time and without wasting time. For example, AI-based learning management systems are used to schedule courses, conduct online tests, and provide instant feedback to students. In addition, artificial intelligence can analyze educational data and identify students' learning patterns. These analyzes help professors in setting up curricula and providing educational content according to the individual needs of students. Also, artificial intelligence predicts learning problems and provides appropriate solutions to solve these problems. The findings of this research show that artificial intelligence plays an important role in improving the quality of teaching and learning for professors, improving learning for learners, and as a research assistant. However, there are also challenges and problems that need to be addressed. These challenges include increasing inequality among people, reducing learning opportunities and learning experiences for learners, as well as insufficient literacy of people about the proper use of artificial intelligence. For the optimal use of artificial intelligence in higher education, it is necessary to pay attention to these challenges and provide appropriate solutions to deal with them. Increasing inequality among individuals: Unequal access to AI technologies can exacerbate educational inequalities.