So much has been made of Artificial Intelligence (AI) potential to replace humans that its introduction to higher education may be met by resistance from faculty and staff who fear for their jobs. It's important to remember that, at its core, AI is just a computer program that does what it is programmed to do. Even if that is learning, it is machine learning. It is about finding correlations in data too voluminous for humans to grasp and using the findings to predict what will happen. Imagine, for a moment, the potential lying in the data emanating from Learning Management Systems like Pedagogue.

So much has been made of Artificial Intelligence (AI) potential to replace humans that its introduction … Even if that is learning, it is machine learning.

Over the past few years, news of the success of data-fed virtual teaching assistants and smart enrollment counselor chatbots has had the higher education world abuzz with the possibilities inherent in using artificial intelligence on campus. Colleges and universities hope AI will help them offload time-intensive administrative and academic tasks, make IT processes more efficient, boost enrollment in a climate of decline and deliver a better learning experience for students. On some campuses, these improvements are already taking place. While scaling up AI deployment at universities will take time due to the costs involved, some faculty members may also be resistant to AI on campus because they worry it will put them out of their jobs. The best way to convince potential stakeholders of the need for AI is to "opt for a problem-first approach," suggests the Education Advisory Board, an education enrollment services and research company.