UNRAVELLING THE PARADOX: GENERATIVE AI INFLUENCES ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Abstract

The advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI), typified by language models, has profound implications for higher education, meriting deep scrutiny. This study probes the interplay of generative AI and academic integrity, a novel and compelling area of enquiry. Previous discourse, albeit fruitful, has predominantly focused on practical applications of AI in education, leaving a lacuna in the theoretical understanding of its ethical implications. This study fills this gap, employing a quartet of prominent theories to construct a robust framework elucidating this nexus. Our central question explores how generative AI influences academic integrity in the digital age. The rationale stems from a surge in AI applications in academia and the emergent ethical considerations these entail. This investigation leverages the conceptual lenses of constructivism, the technology acceptance model, digital literacy, and academic integrity theory. Our enquiry yielded salient insights. Firstly, generative AI disrupts traditional notions of knowledge construction. Secondly, acceptance and effective use of this technology depends on users' perceptions of its usefulness and ease of use. Thirdly, the role of digital literacy emerges as critical in navigating the potential pitfalls of AI use. Finally, AI application calls for rediscovering academic integrity in the modern educational landscape. These findings contribute to the discourse on AI ethics in education, underpinning the necessity for informed policy-making, equitable technology use, and fostering a culture of integrity in the age of AI. The pertinence of these insights reverberates across disciplines, contexts, and geographies, charting the course for future research in higher education.