Sustainability of Higher Education: Study of Student Opinions about the Possibility of Replacing Teachers with AI Technologies

Abstract

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) has affected higher education. Students now receive new tools that optimize the performance of current tasks. Universities have also begun implementing AI technologies to help university teachers and improve the quality of educational services and solve the Sustainable Development Goal 4. Hypothetically, it is possible to replace university teachers by using AI technologies. This is a hidden conflict of Sustainable Development Goal 4 and Sustainable Development Goal 8. This research aimed to examine the perceptions of Eastern European students about the possibility of replacing university teachers through AI technologies. The authors used an information study with a bibliometric analysis of 2000 sources, planning the experiments and compiling the questionnaire, surveying 599 students using an electronic questionnaire and cloud technologies, statistical processing questionnaires using Excel tables, and verifying statistical hypotheses. Verification of statistical hypotheses for replies of 599 respondents showed that more than 10% of the surveyed students from Eastern European universities are confident that AI will replace university teachers in five years. It was shown that the opinions of students in the 1st stage (undergraduate study) from the countries of the European Union and countries outside the European Union have significant differences. The obtained results were proven using one-sided testing and standard hypothesis testing level, α = 0.05. The article was completed with multilevel managerial and pedagogical recommendations. These recommendations are designed to increase higher education’s sustainability in AI implementation.

AI in higher education: Booster or stumbling block for developing digital competence?

“…This recommendation adds more depth to points made by recent studies (cp. Okulich-Kazarin et al, 2024;Pelletier et al, 2023, p. 44). 3.…”

“…Finally, to prevent the feared loss of competencies among students, universities in general and lecturers in particular should thoroughly reflect on when the use of AI in HEIs is meaningful or should be allowed. To achieve this, corresponding regulations (e. g., prohibiting the use of AI in introductory courses) and standards from universities (see also Okulich-Kazarin et al, 2024) are required. On the other hand, lecturers must consider the didactical implications at the level of their teaching offers.…”

Will AI Become a Threat to Higher Education Sustainability? A Study of Students’ Views

“…Only a researcher from Malaysia argues that the effectiveness of teaching and learning programs needs to be maintained satisfactorily [10]. The initial study [1] describes students' points of view on the possibility of replacing university teachers with AI tools. At the same time, the authors of the paper [7] state "insufficient attention to students' points of view".…”

“…Combining data from sources [1,3,[33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40]46,47], we can state that AI has become an integral and essential tool for achieving SDG 4.3. Today, AI tools quickly adapt educational programs to the individual needs of "learners".…”

“…This manuscript continues to publish the results of our research on the East European educational services market [1,2]. The initial study [1] has initiated a series of publications on sustainability and the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in higher education services. The following study [2] explained the research interest in higher education research in Eastern European countries.…”