Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with higher education organisations on tackling the potential implications of increased use of artificial intelligence by students.

There are huge opportunities for artificial intelligence (AI) as it becomes more sophisticated, particularly through generative AI, and we know higher education (HE) providers and the industries they work with are at the forefront of this. There will be many benefits which we are already seeing, but there are also challenges in how the HE sector and students incorporate AI, particularly for teaching, learning and assessment.

The experience and expertise of the sector is contributing to the department’s evidence base for how generative AI is used in education. We published research in January 2024 containing insights from interviews with teachers and experts in HE and the education technology (EdTech) industry, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/generative-ai-in-education-educator-and-expert-views.

The Quality Assurance Agency has been exploring the implications of AI, particularly in relation to academic integrity, and published a briefing for its members in February 2024 focusing on the challenges, underpinned by insights from HE sector leaders.

The Office for Students set out its approach to the use of AI in HE in a recent blog which can be accessed here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/news-blog-and-events/blog/embracing-innovation-in-higher-education-our-approach-to-artificial-intelligence/.