THE podcast: the pros and cons of AI in higher education

Listen to this podcast on Spotify or Apple podcasts.

When artificial intelligence presents an often-overwhelming array of opportunities and threats to higher education, it can help to unpick the issues to get a better understanding of this rapidly evolving technology. So, this podcast episode looks at the impact of AI on higher education from three angles: teaching, governance and environmental impact.

These interviews – with a researcher, a teaching expert and a pro vice-chancellor for AI – share practical advice, break down key considerations, and offer reasons for vigilance and optimism. 

We talk to:

Shaolei Ren is associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and a cooperating faculty member at the University of California, Riverside. His award-winning research focuses on AI for good and building a resilient, sustainable, healthy future. His article, “Making AI less ‘thirsty’: uncovering and addressing the secret water footprint of AI models” – co-written with Pengfei Li and Jianyi Yang, also from UC Riverside, and Mohammad A. Islam of UT Arlington – has drawn attention to water consumption of AI data centres. He serves on the steering committee of the US Center for Strategic and International Studies Project for Water Security.

José Bowen is an author and academic who co-wrote Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024). He has taught at Stanford University, the University of Southampton, Georgetown University, Miami University and SMU in Dallas. He was president of Goucher College until 2019 and is a senior fellow at the Association of American College and Universities. He now runs Bowen Innovation Group. Alongside his academic career, Bowen is a professional jazz pianist and has performed with Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck, Liberace and many others.

Shushma Patel is the UK’s first pro vice-chancellor for artificial intelligence, a role she took up at De Montfort University (DMU) in 2024. With a background in computer science, Patel has led multi-disciplinary research in computing, including with industry to help companies use new technologies for competitive advantage. She joined DMU in 2020 as pro vice-chancellor and dean of the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Media.

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For more advice and insight on the topic of AI in higher education, visit our spotlight guide Bringing GenAI into the university classroom.