The Conversation — AI · September 8, 2026

AI is becoming more common in uni courses. What can students gain and what might they lose?

Higher EducationCurriculum & InstructionEdTech

THE AI ANGLE

Automating core instructional duties like tutoring, feedback delivery, and lecturing

Universities are increasingly deploying AI tools to perform core teaching functions such as tutoring, assessment feedback, and avatar-delivered lectures. While institutions use these tools to offer 24/7 support and better regulate student AI use, staff walkouts and student concerns highlight major anxieties around job security and educational quality. For higher education faculty, substituting human teachers with AI risks eliminating essential pedagogical 'recognition'—the educator's ability to gauge student comprehension, tailor instruction, and validate learners' intellectual development.

THE TEACHING ANGLE

While AI can offer immediate answers and practice, it cannot replace the educator's role in diagnosing learning needs and affirming students as capable participants in an academic discipline.

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AI is becoming more common in uni courses. What can students gain and what might they lose?

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