Reimagining higher education in the age of AI

THE emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, most notably, tools like ChatGPT, has captured the world’s imagination, bringing with it both excitement and apprehension. AI is now firmly embedded in our daily lives, shaping how we communicate, access knowledge, and even educate.

- PROFESSOR SIBUSISO MOYO

Higher education institutions globally are still also grappling with the full adoption and integration of AI both in curricula and practice. According to a recent executive briefing by the Digital Education Council on “AI Literacy for All”, universities are still concerned with academic integrity, practical implications for curricula, learning, teaching and research as well as technical complexities. This has implications then for scaling AI within institutions themselves.

These complexities raise critical questions about the role of education and, in particular, tertiary institutions in society, the skills we prioritise, and the ethical frameworks we adopt as we prepare students for a future increasingly shaped by intelligent machines and advanced technologies.

As we envision this future, we should reflect not only on the ingenuity that drives technological advancement, but also on the responsibility we carry as educators and researchers to ensure innovation remains aligned with integrity, ethics, and equity. Thus, tertiary institutions should harness the potential of AI in learning and research.