CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION: PERCEPTIONS OF FACULTY IN THE UNIVERSITY ENVIRONMENT

Abstract The advancements in AI have driven a new era of innovation and transformation in various contexts, including education. Thus, this study aims to investigate the primary opportunities and challenges of using AI in the university context from the perspective of graduate-level educators. To achieve this objective, a case study was conducted at the Graduate Program in Production Engineering (PEP) at COPPE/UFRJ. Two semi-structured interviews were conducted with the research area coordinators within the program, in addition to searching for documents within the institution and analyzing the document “Brazilian Artificial Intelligence Strategy” (EBIA) from the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MCTI). The results revealed that the main challenges identified were the risk of plagiarism, dependence on AI tools, a lack of critical reflection, and infrastructure and funding difficulties. However, it is worth noting that AI is recognized as a potential support for developing courses and administrative management facilitation. These findings provide valuable insights that can be considered to guide institutional strategies for adopting AI in higher education. Further research should be conducted to encompass other graduate programs and consider the perspectives of different stakeholders in the university environment, such as students and administrative staff, to enhance the understanding of the topic more comprehensively.