Drivers and Consequences of ChatGPT Use in Higher Education: Key Stakeholder Perspectives

Abstract

The incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) into education has heralded a transformative era in the way students learn and faculties teach. Among the burgeoning array of AI tools, ChatGPT stands out as a versatile and powerful resource. Developed by OpenAI, ChatGPT is an AI-driven conversational model that generates human-like responses. This research draws on the Constructivism Learning Theory to uncover the key drivers pushing higher education students to use ChatGPT for academic purposes, and the multifaceted consequences it brings to the academic environment, by integrating the perspectives of key stakeholders: students, faculty, and education experts/leaders. The key findings of in-depth, face-to-face, interviews with key stakeholders revealed 12 main drivers that motivate students and their faculty to use ChatGPT mainly for learning purposes. However, the findings identified the multifaceted (six positive and another six negative) consequences of using ChatGPT for academic purposes. Recommendations for mitigating the negative consequences of ChatGPT were discussed with key stakeholders, particularly education experts/leaders, who were more concerned about using ChatGPT for academic reasons. The research reveals that higher education institutions should establish clear guidelines as a part of higher education policy, supplemented with training sessions for students and their faculty, about the responsible use of ChatGPT for academic purposes to mitigate any ethical concerns.

Human versus Artificial Intelligence: ChatGPT-4 Outperforming Bing, Bard, ChatGPT-3.5, and Humans in Clinical Chemistry Multiple-Choice Questions

“…The ease with which AI can perform complex tasks might inadvertently encourage academic dishonesty, potentially undermining the educational ethics [23, 25]. Furthermore, the reliance on AI for academic tasks could trigger a decline in critical thinking and personal development skills among students, both of which are essential outcomes to enable the graduates in achieving economic, technological, and social advancements [26, 27].…”

Examining Students’ Acceptance and Use of ChatGPT in Saudi Arabian Higher Education

“…Since the inauguration of Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (ChatGPT) in 2022, there has been growing interest among students in using ChatGPT in education [ 1 ]. ChatGPT is a chatbot generated by the OpenAI, which assists users in creating human-like text by processing commands and conversations [ 2 ].…”

“…Studies on the use of ChatGPT in the context of higher education, see for example, refs. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ], have shown several benefits to using ChatGPT in education, such as receiving quick and prompt service, and academic and nonacademic support; developing language skills; and using editing services. Previous research has also shown that ChatGPT assists students in their assignments, projects, homework, and research tasks.…”

“…Other concerns include generation of biased information, fake citations, and reliability and intellectual property concerns, which raise ethical alarms about content provided by students. Hasanein and Sobaih [ 1 ] commented on the destructive influence of ChatGPT on academic integrity and the misuse of information provided by ChatGPT. Furthermore, there are other concerns among many scholars, e.g., refs.…”

“…Furthermore, there are other concerns among many scholars, e.g., refs. [ 1 , 9 ], about the integration of ChatGPT into education; said concerns relate to learning outcomes and students’ skills, particularly critical thinking, which are expected to be negatively affected. Therefore, it has been argued that caution should be taken by academic institutions to prevent over-dependence by students on using ChatGPT for academic purposes [ 1 ].…”