?Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping the way we learn, teach, and engage with knowledge, but it also raises critical questions about ethics, access, and long-term impact. Thus, tertiary institutions should harness the potential of AI in learning and research, writes Prof Sibusiso Moyo, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies, in an opinion piece for the Cape Argus.
- Read the original article below or click here for the piece as published.
Sibusiso Moyo*
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.
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.
When applied thoughtfully, AI can enhance teaching, learning and research outcomes. It assists academics in identifying gaps in teaching materials, streamlining administrative tasks such as grading, and even curating content to better suit learners' individual needs. For students, AI can serve as a personalised learning companion, simplifying complex ideas, offering alternative explanations, and enabling a deeper engagement with content at one's own pace.
AI tools can also be incorporated to support quality assurance in research through platforms like Turnitin, and to simplify academic administration using automated rubrics. These applications free up valuable time, allowing educators to focus on critical engagement and mentorship functions that remain at the heart of academic growth.
Challenges
Alongside opportunities, AI also presents potential threats that we continue to ponder on, for example, the potential erosion of independent thinking. With generative AI being capable of producing entire essays, there is a risk that students, for instance, may rely on such tools in ways that undermine deep learning. The design of assessments must therefore evolve to prioritise critical reasoning, collaboration, and practical application skills that machines cannot replicate. Both students and staff must be encouraged to adopt and use AI effectively and ethically. There is greater effort needed to think about how we teach and learn, and what skills we want to reinforce in our various curricula.
There are also wider concerns about algorithmic bias, data privacy, and the opaque decision-making behind many AI tools. We must ask: whose knowledge systems are being prioritised? What cultural assumptions are embedded within these tools? As universities, we must be proactive in developing frameworks that ensure transparency and accountability in how AI is used and taught. It is this same argument that motivates for scaling AI use and adoption so that our students and researchers also contribute to creating AI tools, innovating and contributing to new algorithms.
Preparing students
Higher education institutions have a duty to equip graduates with more than disciplinary knowledge. We must prepare them for a rapidly shifting world of work, where adaptability, innovation, and ethical discernment are key. We must invest in initiatives that promote AI literacy, including free short courses for lecturers on integrating AI in teaching, learning and assessment. These efforts should be part of a broader commitment to academic excellence, relevance, and innovation.
But perhaps most importantly, we must emphasise the development of uniquely human skills such creativity, empathy, and collaboration. These qualities cannot be automated and are essential for navigating the social and ethical dimensions of technology. As part of exposing both its staff and students to global networks and benchmarking, Stellenbosch 肆客足球 recently joined the Digital Education Council which makes it part of a global community of leaders in education innovation and able to share best practices amongst network partners.
Path forward
The future of AI is not a distant concept, it is already here. As higher education institutions, we must recognise the importance of not only engaging with AI as a tool, but also interrogating its impact, shaping its development, and guiding its integration into our academic mission.
Our challenge, and opportunity, is to ensure that AI serves as an enabler of progress, not a substitute for human insight. We must innovate intentionally, ensuring that the benefits of technology are widely shared, and that our graduates emerge not just technically proficient, but socially conscious and globally competitive. In principle, every discipline should have AI specialists. We have seen recent trends in well-resourced institutions advertising for AI staff in different fields!
As AI continues to develop rapidly, let us reaffirm our commitment to shaping a future where knowledge, ethics, and innovation go hand in hand.
- ?Photo by Stefan Els (Corporate Communication and Marketing Division)
*Prof Sibusiso Moyo is Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies at Stellenbosch 肆客足球.?
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