Technology and new media

Hidden code revealed on university admissions page may have prevented Chinese students from accessing content

Higher ratings for AI-authored abstracts should not obscure the need for engaging prose with a ‘human touch’, says study co-author

Move by 25-campus Universities of Wisconsin System to retain ownership of syllabuses and course materials could see content repurposed, according to faculty members

Impact of AI on education may be overestimated unless used to rethink traditions, says technologist

Eleven universities across four continents are awarded gold in first attempt to measure online learning on a global basis

The choice is to innovate or, potentially, to die. Focusing on customer experience and tech is the best way to avoid the latter, says Eric Skipper

We’re already not as susceptible as we were, but the threat posed by deepfakes has not gone away, say Andrew Chadwick and Nick Jennings

Authors say findings support idea that researchers will increasingly use AI tools to design more effective experiments

Freely available tool performs strongly in trials against human interviewers and traditional online surveys

Academics emphasise importance of transparency and human vetting of journal submissions

Chinese multinational makes inroads in Europe as technology giants compete to get their tools on university curricula

Professor filling first-of-its-kind role says universities need to encourage students to use AI in their studies, or risk them falling behind

Figures reveal dramatic rise in AI-related misconduct at Russell Group universities, with further questions raised by sector’s ‘patchy record-keeping’ and inconsistent approach to detection

New book raises concerns about how increasing digital surveillance on campuses reproduces racial and economic injustices

‘Over-regulation’ feared as actual use of new technologies lags far behind perceptions of university staff

Institutions already years behind private companies in their ability to tackle online threats, university chief of IT warns

Sheffield-born laureate on his hometown’s influence, his PhD struggles and why social media should be taxed like smoking

Some academics put off from using AI because of ‘lack of guidance’ on how to use technology ‘ethically and transparently’

Newcastle vice-chancellor says shared approach needed to prevent ‘bad practices’

Essay mills pivoting to offering low-cost services to avoid plagiarism checks

If AI is to transform education, assessment must be rebooted and developers must make leaps in understanding the learning process, experts say. Rosa Ellis reports

Allowing Big Tech to train AIs on academic output will only exacerbate the threat posed to teaching and research, says Martyn Hammersley

Outgoing Erasmus University Rotterdam president discusses the underappreciated value of the social sciences, managing student protests and the differences between Dutch and German higher education

Chris Rock’s joke about US gun control exemplifies a cognitive sophistication that machines will struggle to match, say Akhil Bhardwaj and Anastasia Sergeeva

Tightening of rules may be weakening the quality of eligible candidates for conversion courses, report says

Google, LinkedIn and X warned that adverts for contract cheating services have ‘proliferated’ despite legislative bans

Embedding digital competency into hiring and advancement decisions would help to foster innovation, report says

Only half of US faculty members surveyed believe AI will enhance the student experience, as many report being left out of decisions on how technology is used

As tech giants spend staggering sums on artificial intelligence, the head of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council explains why it’s vital for academia to engage in this ‘hot’ area of research

Many scholars loathe generative AI but it has immense power to engage the intellectual curiosity of students as long as academics truly embrace it, argues John Kaag

Higher education staff missing opportunity to use generative AI tools to relieve them from routine tasks, Australian survey finds

Report stresses AI is ‘new standard’ and universities need to better communicate policies

Researchers claim that Taylor & Francis kept details of deal quiet, but company insists that citation and limits on verbatim quoting will be sacrosanct

Instead of viewing GenAI only as a threat, we should embrace it as an opportunity to reform our outdated approaches, says Dorottya Sallai

Computer systems, library resources and payments disrupted by defective Crowdstrike software update

Changing student expectations and labour market challenges also drive shift towards interdisciplinary programmes

New technology that allows AI avatars to deliver lectures could be used to ‘democratise’ access to higher education, says professor

UCLA lecturer says ban necessary due to fears that those discussing contentious issues may face repercussions

Academics tell Elsevier that they recognise the potential of generative AI but want to see their concerns addressed

Hacking group claims to have published stolen data online

Nobel laureate says discussing vapid AI answers can help students understand true scientific rigour

University of Glasgow philosophers behind viral ‘ChatGPT is bullshit’ paper claim student AI use is linked to dubious techno optimism of billionaire Silicon Valley moguls

Generative AI is ‘a bit like teenage snogging – everyone’s doing it although no one really knows how’

ChatGPT scores half a grade higher than psychology undergraduates in experiment at University of Reading

With more countries keen to capitalise on the lucrative industry, policymakers and companies are leaning on universities to address talent deficits

Software that can record and transcribe class talks and discussions is becoming increasingly common, but some fear it could prove detrimental to long-term learning

‘It’s not a machine for cheating; it’s a machine for producing crap,’ says one professor infuriated by rise of bland scripts

Departments can no longer be singularly tied to their mathematical and engineering foundations, focused only on what can be built, says Beth Mynatt

Perhaps AI will be a useful tool. But our obsession with every shiny new object regardless of the harm it might do makes me worry, says Melinda Zook

AI model released by students sparked controversy for similarities to one developed by scientists from Tsinghua University

The president of Lingnan University on requiring students to use ChatGPT and using data to manage grumbles from staff

Poll finds most researchers are using AI but only a tiny number trust technology companies on data privacy

Energy required to run and cool supercomputers is at odds with universities’ sustainability targets, particularly in hotter parts of the world

Global survey of peer reviewers reveals deep distrust towards ChatGPT, with some calling for a complete ban on its use in research and academia

The head of Nanyang Technological University leverages the institution’s youthful vigour to put AI at the heart of learning and uses his research background to inform his leadership and help recruit potential Nobel prizewinners

The likes of Google are being undermined by both AI and their own commercial imperatives. Researchers can no longer rely on them, says Andy Farnell

Institutions must accept rules have changed in order to survive ‘disruptive innovation’ brought about by new technologies, says online learning expert

Tracking teaching, grades and research productivity with electronic systems is affecting staff independence and well-being, union-backed survey finds

Graduates who can’t think critically without electronic assistance will be at a distinct disadvantage in the workplace, says Loïc Plé 

Anglophone scepticism about the value of language study had been rising for many years before anyone had heard of Duolingo or ChatGPT. But while some academics believe technology will kill off universities’ remaining language departments, others dare to hope it will be their saviour. Patrick Jack reports