We asked 13 universities how AI is being used for teaching. Their responses varied.

The state’s universities are deploying AI in lectures as a virtual assistant for conversational skills, for student support and as a “study buddy” as the technology continues its march on higher education.

But backlash is brewing across the sector as concerns mount about hollowed out and devalued qualifications – for which some students will pay record prices next year – job security and loss of human connection.

Universities have been grappling with AI since ChatGPT exploded in late 2022; while most began in a position of banning it, students’ use has been accepted to varying degrees at most universities. Now, a new frontier has opened: teaching.

This month, the University of Newcastle told its Introduction to Programming students that part of the course’s delivery would come through digital avatar of the course convenor.

In a statement to this masthead, UoN’s Acting Pro Vice-Chancellor – Education Innovation, Professor Karen Blackmore said the university had begun “academic-led initiatives” into how AI could enhance course delivery and the lecturer was “using short AI videos to demonstrate the real-world application of the technology”.

The computer programming course will continue to include face-to-face laboratory sessions and live classes.

“The University does not support replacing traditional lectures with AI-delivered content,” she said.

University of Newcastle’s Student Association president Imogen Reid told the Herald that students were wary of AI “sneaking” into courses, while the National Tertiary Education Union’s Newcastle Branch President Dr Terry Summers questioned the university’s motivation.

“It’s some sort of project that they’re trying, but why are they trying? It may just be for a project, or it may be to see if they can get away with doing it on a larger scale. If it’s delivering lectures, it would seem to me that it misses the whole point of a university education,” he said.

“The community and the students are paying for a degree, and if it’s been delivered by a ChatGPT avatar, it’s not quite kosher, is it?”

Globally, AI tutors have been rolled out at universities in America including Virginia’s George Mason University and Chicago’s Generations College. In 2024, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology deployed 10 lecturers of varying ages, nationalities and cultural backgrounds to teach.

“The loss here is fundamental. If you remove enough academics and these critical interactions then these institutions are no longer universities,” said the NTEU’s NSW Division Secretary Vince Caughley.

AI enthusiasts say that it saves time and effort and allows academics to focus on the more critical tasks, can provide out-of-hours answers and feedback. Many in the sector, including everyone interviewed for this story, acknowledged that AI is here to stay, so universities must act accordingly.

At New South Wales’ 11 universities, AI’s use in teaching varies greatly.