Artificial Intelligence Generated Text (AIGPT): Threat or Opportunity

The Center for Higher Education Futures (CHEF) of ATINER is organizing a Special Session on “Is Artificial Intelligence Generated Text (AIGPT) a Threat to Academic Integrity or an Opportunity to Enhance Teaching and Learning Practice” as part of the 25^th Annual International Conference on Education, 15-18 May 2023, Athens, Greece sponsored by the Athens Journal of Education.

The mandatory, pandemic-driven transition to online and remote learning and teaching fueled a rapid growth in digital technologies, many of which have delivered great benefits to online learning, including live online sessions using Zoom or Teams, the flexibility to split students into virtual discussion rooms and small activity groups, and real-time online polls and quizzes which foster student engagement and provide instance feedback on performance. This intensive focus on digital technologies and computers has accelerated developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) which have the potential to impact enormously on higher education and force significant reform and reconceptualisation of curriculum, approaches to teaching, and learning and assessment activities. A current AI software, which is generating much debate is Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformers (AIChatGPT).  This and similar AI programs, generate responses to assessment tasks or questions within minutes, thus challenging academic integrity policies, standards, and authentication practices across the higher education sector. A burning question is: Is Artificial Intelligence Generated Text (AIGPT) a threat to academic integrity or an opportunity to enhance teaching and learning practice?

The purpose of this session is to examine the implications of AIChatGPT and similar programs on the academic integrity of higher education qualifications and to introduce some tools and strategies that may help convert the ‘threat’ into learning opportunities. The session will discuss how an original online assessment framework, DASH C21, which stands for Digital Assessment Stretching Horizons in the twenty-first century can be applied to minimise the threat of AI products to corrupt and derail assessment. The Framework draws upon research evidence and years of academic experience. It consists of a strong foundation of ten principles and values, which are the inputs that guide the assessment design. The dimensions, considered in the Framework are practices and pedagogies, strategies, emerging technologies, and ways to stretch learning horizons. The outputs of the Framework are digital assessments which are designed to be authentic, innovative, experiential, and forward looking with academic integrity checkpoints embedded throughout the design and implementation processes.

In addition, the session will demonstrate how the design and implementation of an effective Learning Management System (LMS) can assist in deterring and detecting AI generated assessments. If the features in the LMS engage students in assessments which are scaffolded, sequential and developmental, where each phase of the assessment task is progressively monitored, the outputs will be transparent and predictable and less likely to be a threat to academic integrity.   The session will also consider how these tools (DASDHC21 and a well-designed LMS) could incorporate computer generated text into assessment design. One opportunity might be to require detailed analysis of the text, drawing upon comparison with other data sources, research outcomes and scholarly works, This type of application may be more appropriate at the post-graduate level, but conversations about ways to take advantage of AI generated text, and see it as an opportunity to expand learning not only as a threat, need to commence.

The session will appeal to academic leaders, quality assurance and risk managers, course coordinators, curriculum designers, teaching staff, and learning and teaching specialists. The material and ideas presented will be applicable to all discipline areas in the higher education sector.

Please submit an abstract (by email only) to: atiner@atiner.gr, using the abstract submission form by 4 April 2023 to: Dr. Ali Abusalem, Director, Center for Higher Education Futures (CHEF), ATINER and Course Coordinator, Kent Institute Australia & External Member of Academic Board, Elite Education Institute, Australia or Dr. Lorraine Bennett, Deputy Director, Center for Higher Education Futures (CHEF), ATINER and Managing Director, Lorraine Bennett Learning and Teaching Consultancy, Australia.. Abstracts should include the following details: Title of Paper, Full Name (s), Affiliation, Current Position, an email address, and at least 3 keywords that best describe the subject of your submission. Decisions are reached within 4 weeks.

If you want to participate without presenting a paper, i.e. organize a stream, chair a session, review papers to be included in the conference proceedings or books, contribute to the editing of a book, or any other contribution, please send an email  to Dr. Gregory T. Papanikos, President, ATINER (president@atiner.gr).