GENERATIVE AI IN HIGHER EDUCATION: UNIVERSITY FACULTY PERSPECTIVES ON OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

This study aims to understand how faculty members at higher education institutions in Pakistan respond to the opportunities and challenges associated with using GAI in teaching and learning. The research employed a phenomenological approach within the qualitative research tradition. Data were collected from 33 university faculty members through semi-structured interviews, which were analyzed thematically. Our analysis identified that ethical issues and overreliance were significant challenges to the use of GAI. Key ethical challenges included data privacy and security and the unethical use of GAI in exams and assessments. Shortcomings in GAI’s ability to produce unreliable outputs in instances could lead to potential bias due to over reliance on it. Overreliance may also compromise human values and privacy, replace human critical thinking capabilities, and encourage cheating and plagiarism. The key opportunities associated with the use of GAI included improved learning outcomes and contextual integration of GAI. Using GAI was found to improve knowledge acquisition and research efficiency, offering access to a vast amount of information, entertaining personalized learning needs, and generating course content. Tailored use in specific subjects or learning scenarios was also found to be an opportunity associated with the use of GAI. It was also found beneficial for use in data-intensive processes such as analyzing a long text or summarizing a report. Although there are some shortcomings that need to be addressed, the findings confirm that GAI is a valuable tool for education. It has the potential to transform into an invaluable asset for faculty and students alike, enriching their learning experiences. The introduction of GAI has opened up new opportunities for transforming teaching, learning, and research. However, certain emerging challenges must be addressed. In this context, this study provides first-hand insights by analyzing teachers’ responses.