The digital revolution has long promised to democratize higher education. As President of University of the People, a tuition-free, online, American-accredited institution, I have seen firsthand how technology can break down barriers and open doors for students around the world. Yet the promise of the digital revolution has only been partially realized: Graduations rates for online based education vary by institution but are overall lower than traditional universities. Meanwhile, UNESCO estimates that while enrollment in higher education has surged, 57% of university-aged learners around the world remain without access to this life-changing resource.
Today, we stand at another technological inflection point, and the discourse surrounding artificial intelligence’s impact on higher education is similarly optimistic. We have an opportunity to fulfill these aspirations, but only through thoughtful and intentional deployment of these tools, ensuring they truly provide for all rather than reinforcing existing inequalities.
AI technology has the potential to make quality higher education more accessible, more affordable, and more personalized than ever before, reaching learners wherever they are in life and in the world. From a child in a remote village to a working parent seeking a career change, AI offers a new pathway to knowledge. This is a future where education is not a luxury, but a fundamental human right. More specifically, AI will cause major shifts in the higher education landscape in terms of how students learn, what students learn and how universities support student learning journeys.
The evidence for AI’s power impact on learning is growing. Recent research from Harvard has showcased the positive impact of AI tutors. The study’s outcomes not only demonstrate that the use of an AI tutor helps students learn more content in less time, but also that learners are more engaged, motivated, and achieve enhanced learning outcomes as a result.
Learning personalization is one of the most exciting developments in the use of AI and one that must be equitably leveraged for this technology to truly democratize higher education. Recognizing that each student learns in their own way due to a variety of socioeconomic factors, AI can be implemented to tailor content and delivery based on student attributes, without sacrificing important student-instructor interaction. These so called “intelligent tutoring system” platforms are not static learning modules; they are dynamic, responsive tools that adapt to each student’s unique pace, learning style, and specific needs. They can provide instant feedback, identify areas of struggle, and offer customized resources—support once available to only a select few. This personalized assistance as a supplement to human instruction, can now be made available to students from all backgrounds. Imagine an always-available AI assistant, a tireless tutor helping a refugee student grasp a complex mathematical concept or guiding a first-generation college student through a challenging essay. These systems make a high-quality, tailored education a reality, ensuring every student has the support they need to succeed, regardless of their starting point.
It is clear that AI can help bridge educational disparities by offering adaptive and personalized learning experiences in diverse educational settings, but it is crucial to recognize the important human elements of the implementation of this technology. AI will free up dedicated faculty to focus on mentorship, critical thinking, and genuine human connection. Importantly, this situation will place an even greater emphasis on the role of faculty in the age of AI, where teaching the skills to employ AI as a learning partner in each discipline while using the technology ethically in producing work and in a future professional setting must be an over overarching objective.
Long the punchline for tropes on inefficient, slow-moving bureaucracy, higher education administration stands to make leaps in efficiency through AI implementation. From student recruitment, application processes and student advising, to post-graduation career guidance, student support structures will be quicker, more efficient, predictive, and responsive. This technology will ensure that the most appropriate students are approached, selected to enroll and ready for their university studies. It can also help direct students to focus on subjects relevant to their abilities and ambitions and personally support post-graduation job-seeking. While diminishing labor for routine and repetitive tasks, AI allows us to decrease costs and support an even greater number of students equitably.
This optimism, however, must be tempered with caution. AI is not a panacea that will instantly solve generations of disparity in higher education. If its deployment is not guided by a deliberate focus on equity, it could easily perpetuate and deepen existing inequalities. The “digital divide” is still very real, and if access to powerful AI tools is limited to a privileged few, we risk creating an even more profound knowledge gap. Bearing these challenges in mind, I employ four principles in deploying AI across a higher education institution:
- Avoid bias: If the underlying information used to train AI models is biased, it will perpetuate existing inequality and lack of access. This must be top of mind in every AI use case development.
- Access is key: For AI to be a democratizing force, all students must have equitable access to technology. If this gap is not closed, AI will simply widen the existing divides.
- A people-centric approach: Despite advances in AI, people remain at the heart of learning. A balanced approach is essential to ensure AI complements the human elements of education.
- Embrace the technology: AI is here to stay, and approaching the technology through a lens of distrust is to miss a vital opportunity. While AI use can raise concerns about academic integrity, institutions must think creatively about how they assess student outputs and develop curricula that focuses on critical thinking and ethical AI use.
The future of education will be shaped by how we choose to integrate AI. It is a powerful enabler of democratized education, but requires continued research, thoughtful implementation, and broad collaboration among all stakeholders—educators, students, and technologists. AI has the power to empower learners worldwide with unprecedented opportunities for success. But as we embrace this technology, we must also teach students the critical thinking skills to use AI effectively (both in the classroom and beyond) and to use it as a tool to enhance their education, not to replace it. We must learn to harness the best of what AI offers to help humanity navigate this new educational landscape, ensuring that this transformative resource is available to anyone that needs it.
