From chalkboards to chatbots: navigating AI adoption, ethics, identity, and governance in UK higher education

Purpose This study explores the opportunities and challenges of integrating artificial Intelligence (AI) tools into higher education, with a particular focus on their ethical, pedagogical, and institutional implications. It examines how academics perceive generative AI’s impact on teaching, learning, research, and assessment, and identifies the values and governance frameworks required for its responsible adoption. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research was employed, drawing on semi-structured interviews with 12 academics from UK higher education setting. Thematic analysis was conducted following Braun and Clarke’s (2006, 2019) six-phase framework, with NVivo used to capture the nuanced ways in which staff interpret and respond to AI adoption. Findings Five interrelated themes were identified. Participants reported a shifting sense of academic identity, with AI seen as challenging traditional expertise and authority. Concerns around ethics, integrity, and trust were pervasive, particularly regarding plagiarism, fairness, and transparency. In relation to teaching, assessment, and learning, AI was perceived as both a disruptor of established pedagogical models and a catalyst for innovation. Institutional culture and governance were highlighted as underdeveloped, with a lack of clear guidance creating inconsistency across practice. Finally, perspectives on AI’s future trajectories reflected ambivalence, combining fears of diminished integrity with cautious optimism for more personalized and efficient learning. Originality/value The study contributes to debates on digital transformation in higher education by demonstrating how AI adoption is understood through the lenses of academic identity, ethics, and governance. It underscores the need for adaptive institutional policies, embedded AI literacy, and equity-focused safeguards. The findings suggest that the desirable future is not AI-free but AI-literate: one in which universities harness AI responsibly while preserving the scholarly values that underpin higher education.