Generative AI and Its Implications for Higher Education Students and Educators

This chapter introduces the overarching aim of the book, in the wake of heightened public interest and the excitement and then consternation, among higher education practitioners, that followed the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 by OpenAI, and subsequent unveiling of similar GenAI products. The chapter provides an overview of the emergence of generative AI, exemplified by state-of-the-art generative pre-trained transformers 4 (GPT-4), built with vast and versatile capabilities that surpass previous models of chatbots. The chapter then discusses potential abuses and the disruptive impacts of generative AI in the higher education sector, with highlights of current debates regarding potential challenges and opportunities for learners and tutors, including raging debates about the future of academic essays. The chapter also highlights the limitations of the traditional models of assessment and the need to give more attention to know-how (competence development) and show-how (performance evaluations) over know-what (knowledge testing). This sets the ground for the introduction of the next six chapters, in which use cases of generative AI are presented and discussed across a whole spectrum of themes, including lesson preparation and content development, formative assessment, summative assessment, student experience, and ethical issues. The chapter also describes the structure for the use cases chapters, including practical discussions of prompts in textboxes, hands-on tasks and exercises, comparative examples from ChatGPT, and other GenAI products where applicable.