LEAN INTO AI The University of Exeter Business School’s Alison Truelove argues that generative AI tools should not be feared, but rather embraced as an opportunity to review the current approach to assessment and focus on developing students’ critical, digital and evaluative skills
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he reaction to ChatGPT and related generative AI tools has been largely negative within higher education circles, with discussions dominated by the challenges of retaining the
academic integrity of assessments. However, their emergence is accelerating the enhancement of university assessments to better prepare students for their future working lives. Regardless of career choice, an ability to harness the power of these technologies and keep abreast of emerging innovations will be vital, along with an awareness of their fallibilities, bias and potential to perpetuate misinformation. In acknowledging the existence of these new tools, we have an opportunity to review our approach to assessment and focus on developing the critical, digital and evaluative skills of our students. Arriving from a diverse range of backgrounds, they bring with them different experiences and expectations. Some will have undertaken qualifications assessed only by examination, others only by coursework. In addition, some will never have encountered the need for full and transparent acknowledgement of their sources. Defining academic integrity Due to this diversity of prior experience, most universities now offer comprehensive induction support that reveals what has sometimes been termed a ‘hidden curriculum’. This includes clarifying exactly what we mean by academic integrity and honesty. With the emergence of AI writing tools, the opportunity
to generate responses to assessment questions is inevitable. In response, we must therefore support students to understand what is (and isn’t) acceptable practice within our academic conduct policies and encourage them to develop ethical and honest approaches to all aspects of their studies. At the University of Exeter Business School, we had already developed a principles of professional practice framework, aimed at embedding the development of professional behaviours throughout the curriculum. Within this, our expectation that students are ethical in their academic work – and indeed in all their interactions with others – sits alongside encouragement to be collaborative, respectful, responsible, engaged and compassionate.
48 | Ambition | MAY 2023
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