Think hard if you reckon university is right for you. For some professions, it’s a must but recruiters and employers these days don’t rank a university degree has high as they used to. Consider also whether you’ll be taught by an AI clone of a lecturer. This story was in the SMH.

New South Wales universities are using AI in lectures, as virtual assistants and as a “study buddies” as the technology continues to undermine higher education.

It’s only a matter of time before most lectures will be online and run by chatbots.

A backlash is brewing about devalued qualifications, for which students are paying top dollar.

The National Tertiary Education Union’s Newcastle branch president Dr Terry Summers questioned the university’s motivation.

“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 being delivered by a ChatGPT avatar, it’s not quite kosher, is it?”

Staff at Adelaide University has privately confirmed that most lectures would be pre-recorded digital content, which raised concerns about transparency and education standards. Removing in-person lectures disadvantages those who need structure, community and direct engagement with teaching staff.

With the advent of AI in teaching, it scraps one of the differentiators that makes universities unique.

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 AI lecturers of varying ages, nationalities and cultural backgrounds.

Harvard Business School used volunteer academics to help create AI clones of themselves for a new eight-week entrepreneurship boot camp. Harvard has tested the product, which costs $US699 ($975), with more than 100 universities across 50 states.

In America, report from the AAUP surveyed faculty on AI in higher education. 62% said AI has led to worse teaching outcomes. 69% said worse student success and 91% cited concerns about academic dishonesty. Faculty are largely excluded from the AI decisions their institutions are making.

NTEU NSW division secretary Vince Caughley said: “If you remove enough academics and these critical interactions, then these institutions are no longer universities.”

The University of New England uses AI avatars in simulations “primarily for students to practice in before their assessments are conducted with actual humans”, chief AI officer Associate Professor Aaron Driver said.

“For example, an avatar might play the role of an athlete in a clinical exercise physiology simulation. Or they might be simulated patients in pharmacy, psychology and nursing.”

The University of Technology, Sydney, is considering “learning assistants” for tasks such as role-playing through conversational skills or reflection on study experiences. Teachers are using AI to prepare class materials.

At the University of Sydney, AI is used to “support curriculum development, generate ideas, review drafts or help structure learning and assessment materials” under the supervision of a person.

“There may be some circumstances where considered use of an AI avatar can enhance teaching. We’ve seen the technology put to innovative use by educators providing students with oral exams and presentation practice, and by an academic who lives with a vocal disability,” deputy vice-chancellor (education and students) Professor Joanne Wright said.

At Macquarie University, students can use an AI-powered “academic support assistant” to “answer questions using approved course materials, including lecture slides, unit guides, assessment information, policies, and learning resources”.

At Western Sydney University, “academic staff are already using generative AI in a range of ways to support teaching and assessment”, a spokesperson said.

The University of Wollongong has launched a program named UoW RenAIssance, which has piloted “AI study buddies”. It is looking at how AI can provide student feedback and learning support, design rubrics and come up with teaching ideas.

The Australian National University, Southern Cross University, and Australian Catholic University did not respond to questions.