The meteoric rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has transcended the boundaries of the possible, radically reshaping various sectors, including research and higher education. Indeed, 75% of students recognize that AI, thanks to its many advantages, improves the quality of learning, according to a recent study.
Dubbed “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Research and Higher Education in Morocco”, the study, by researchers Ghizlane Moukhliss, Khalid Lahyani and Ghizlane, sets out to explore the profound impact of AI within Moroccan universities, focusing on its transformative influence, scrutinizing its undeniable benefits, its arduous challenges, and the prospects that open up on a future horizon.
According to the survey, over 38% of teachers have limited knowledge of artificial intelligence tools, while 29% have moderate knowledge and 10% have none at all. In addition, it shows that AI is integrated into some courses in 53% of schools, but totally absent in 35%. Although over 67% of teachers have already used AI-based tools in their teaching or research, 33% of respondents have never used such tools.
The researchers also point out that teachers have already exploited AI tools in their teaching practices and research work, notably for linguistic translation and verification, plagiarism or fraud detection, and the creation or adaptation of teaching materials.
Teachers are also keen to invest in the use of AI in teaching. Over 64% believe it would be easy for them to acquire the necessary skills to use an AI tool. What’s more, 55% say they have a clear vision of their role as educators in using these tools.
On the one hand, over 92% of educators recognize that the intentions of players in the Moroccan higher education community can influence AI adoption. On the other hand, over 95% of respondents consider that AI-generating tools can never replace the physical presence and personal interaction of a teacher in the classroom.
As for the student survey, it revealed that the majority of participants, 44%, were PhD students, while 40% were undergraduates. The survey revealed that over 40% of students have a moderate level of mastery of AI tools, while over 32% have a superficial knowledge.
Nevertheless, ChatGPT reigns supreme among students with an overwhelming popularity of 85%, followed by Midjourney at 6.22%, Bard at 4.53%, and OpenAI at 2.50%. In terms of usage, 151 students use these tools to “Obtain additional information”, 124 to “Provide translations and check language”, and 103 to “Request improvements to text structure”.
In addition, participants feel that AI mainly improves the quality of learning (75%), with additional benefits such as a 24/7 available assistant and increased efficiency. They confirm that AI facilitates their studies and research, speeds up tasks and boosts productivity. However, only 17.3% noted concrete improvements, against 82% who observed no difference.
In addition, students identified various obstacles to the adoption of AI in higher education, such as lack of training, fear of plagiarism and fraud, dissemination of misinformation, reduction of student effort, laziness, ethical dilemmas, suppression of innovation and creativity, student irresponsibility, teachers’ lack of familiarity with AI, high tool costs and fear of reducing human intelligence.
Rrespondents recommended training students and teachers, establishing ethical frameworks, organizing conferences on AI, and encouraging the use of AI in curricula, in order to improve the integration of AI into the education system.
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