AI tools in higher education: Ongoing misalignments

Scholars have presented compelling arguments suggesting that a lack of artificial intelligence (AI) literacy (i.e. understanding the nature and capabilities of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT) is a primary driver of inappropriate use of LLMs (e.g. academic misconduct) by students. In contrast, I argue that more emphasis should be placed on the incentives for the misuse of LLMs. Specifically, the misalignments between the goals of key stakeholders (i.e. students/employers vs college faculty/administration) incentivize students to use LLMs in a manner that undermines the purpose of a college education, thereby demonstrating that AI literacy skills insufficiently prevent inappropriate LLM use. I describe the scope and implications of the misalignments prior to presenting pedagogical considerations for faculty and administrators. This presentation includes a recommendation that faculty and administrators utilize goal orientation to understand and mitigate the academic misconduct associated with incorporating LLMs into their respective pedagogies.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Management in Education
Published
2026-05-12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/08920206261448370
Primary Topic
Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

AI tools in higher education: Ongoing misalignments

Michael L. Ekema
Management in Education
Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education
article

AI tools in higher education: Ongoing misalignments

Michael L. Ekema
article en

Abstract

Scholars have presented compelling arguments suggesting that a lack of artificial intelligence (AI) literacy (i.e. understanding the nature and capabilities of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT) is a primary driver of inappropriate use of LLMs (e.g. academic misconduct) by students. In contrast, I argue that more emphasis should be placed on the incentives for the misuse of LLMs. Specifically, the misalignments between the goals of key stakeholders (i.e. students/employers vs college faculty/administration) incentivize students to use LLMs in a manner that undermines the purpose of a college education, thereby demonstrating that AI literacy skills insufficiently prevent inappropriate LLM use. I describe the scope and implications of the misalignments prior to presenting pedagogical considerations for faculty and administrators. This presentation includes a recommendation that faculty and administrators utilize goal orientation to understand and mitigate the academic misconduct associated with incorporating LLMs into their respective pedagogies.

Management in Education
Quality Education
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education
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