New From Ithaka S+R: “AI Chatbots in Education: A Comparative Analysis at Bryant University”

From an Ithaka S+R Blog Post by David A. Gannon, Terri A Hasseler, Suhong Li, Philip Lombardi, Allison Papini, ML Tlachac:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been making significant strides in various sectors, and education is no exception. AI chatbots, in particular, have been gaining popularity for their potential to enhance teaching, learning, research, and administrative tasks. A recent survey conducted at Bryant University reveals an interesting trend: while students and faculty are increasingly adopting AI chatbots, staff members seem to lag behind. This guest blog post delves into the possible reasons behind this disparity using the 77 faculty, 111 staff, and 224 student responses collected between November 2023 and February 2024. A full survey report will be published on the Bryant University website at a later date. Bryant University is participating in Ithaka S+R’s cohort project, Making AI Generative for Higher Education.

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Trust and Satisfaction

Trust in the information provided by AI chatbots also varied greatly among the three groups of respondents. While 48 percent of students mostly trust AI chatbots, only 21 percent of faculty and 24 percent of staff shared this sentiment. Similarly, 77 percent of students reported being either extremely satisfied or somewhat satisfied with AI chatbots, a stark contrast to the 44 percent of faculty and 35 percent of staff who expressed similar levels of satisfaction. While respondents from all three groups expressed concerns about the accuracy of chatbot answers, staff more frequently raised concerns about data privacy and security. These differences could thus stem from varying expectations and privacy needs with regards to AI chatbots.

Learn More, Read the Complete Post (635 words)

Filed under: Data Files, News