Generative Artificial Intelligence in portuguese higher education: teachers' perceptions of emerging challenges

The rapid dissemination of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is transforming higher education, creating new opportunities while simultaneously raising significant challenges for teaching, learning and assessment. In this context, understanding teachers' perceptions is essential to support the responsible, ethical and pedagogically meaningful integration of these technologies. This study aims to analyse Portuguese higher education teachers' perceptions of the main difficulties and challenges arising from the widespread use of GenAI. Data were collected through an open-ended question included in a survey administered to higher education teachers from three Portuguese universities. A total of 65 valid responses were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The coding process generated 117 units of record, organised into two overarching themes: difficulties and challenges associated with the use of GenAI. Assessment emerged as the most prominent area across the coded responses. Participants highlighted difficulties in assessing students' actual learning, verifying the authorship and authenticity of academic work, addressing the risk of superficial learning, and sustaining students' critical engagement. Concerns also emerged regarding the teaching-learning process, particularly the risk of superficial learning, the decline of critical thinking, students' inappropriate use of GenAI, and the need to preserve meaningful pedagogical relationships. Regarding future challenges, participants emphasised the need to redesign assessment practices, adopt innovative teaching methodologies, integrate GenAI meaningfully into pedagogical practices, promote students' critical thinking, reinforce the value of faceto-face teaching, and invest in teachers' professional development. Additional priorities include the establishment of clear institutional guidelines, the ethical use of GenAI, the reliability of AI-generated information, and awareness of its environmental impact. The findings suggest that integrating GenAI into higher education requires more than adopting new technologies. It demands a comprehensive transformation of assessment practices, pedagogical approaches, teacher professional development, and institutional policies. By giving voice to Portuguese higher education teachers, this study contributes to the international debate on the educational implications of GenAI and provides exploratory indications that may inform local professional-development planning.