Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education: Applications, Ethical Challenges, and Strategic Pathways for Institutional Transformation

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Integrity Assessment and Collaboration in the AI Classroom

Publication Date

3-6-2026

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming higher education, reshaping pedagogical practices, administrative operations, and institutional strategies. This literature review synthesizes recent scholarship (2023–2025) to examine how AI, particularly generative tools such as ChatGPT, is being integrated across global higher education contexts. Findings highlight dual pathways of adoption: pedagogically, AI supports personalized and adaptive learning, intelligent tutoring, content creation, and collaborative learning environments; administratively, it enables data-driven decision-making, resource optimization, and student lifecycle management. While offering significant opportunities, AI adoption raises critical ethical concerns, including academic integrity, data privacy, algorithmic bias, and risks to human development and social interaction. Institutional strategies for effective AI integration emphasize the importance of responsible leadership, robust governance frameworks, faculty development, and infrastructure investment. Student perspectives reveal widespread adoption of AI tools, driven by efficiency and work load pressures, but tempered by concerns about reliability, autonomy, and social consequences. Global analyses underscore disparities in adoption across regions, with most research originating from high-income countries, leaving gaps in understanding cross-cultural and equity-focused implications. The review concludes that AI in higher education is not merely a technological shift but a systemic transformation requiring balanced approaches that align innovation with ethics, efficiency with equity, and automation with human values. Recommendations are offered for institutional leaders, faculty, students, and researchers to guide responsible and sustainable AI implementation in higher education.

ISBN

[9798260003282, 9798260003305]

ISSN

2327-0411

Publisher

IGI Global Scientific Publishing

First Page

157

Last Page

189

Disciplines

Education

Keywords

Higher education (0.69), Scholarship (0.64), Knowledge management (0.52), Corporate governance (0.51), Engineering ethics (0.49), Sociology (0.41), Human resources (0.37), Computer science (0.35), Applications of artificial intelligence (0.34), Generative grammar (0.32), Workload (0.3), Artificial intelligence (0.29), Automation (0.29), Human intelligence (0.27), Educational technology (0.27), Political science (0.26), Data science (0.26), Resource (disambiguation) (0.26), Sustainability (0.26), Emerging technologies (0.26), Engineering (0.25), Capability approach (0.25)

Scopus ID

105033792623

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

Link to Full Text

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