Overview
In late 2022, the South African higher education was preparing to adapt to a “new normal”, incorporating the hard-earned lessons learnt during and after the pandemic. However, the release of ChatGPT, a large language model, disrupted the higher education landscape. ChatGPT and other AI text and image generators quickly proliferated, adding an unprecedented level of disruption and rapid innovation.
Some may view the AI chatbot era as a "Chatpocalypse Now" event, with its phenomenal uptake in a short span of time assailing academic integrity, infringing copyright in the creative industries, and raising concomitant data, privacy, and ethical concerns for both individuals and society. Others see its promising applications across various disciplines, and, more so – in the higher education sector – as an opportunity to re-evaluate the purpose of higher education as well as to herald new ways of assessment, learning, and research.
As we ride the tsunami of accelerated technological development that has hit our shores, the Wits Centre for Learning, Teaching, and Development (CLTD) would like to provide a platform for multidisciplinary contributions from the Wits community to this evolving conversation. In anticipation of the rich and critical discussion of the role of AI technologies for Learning and Teaching, our conference theme this year is: Ensuring Responsibility, Equity, and Access: Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education.
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