College IT staff warming to generative AI, survey suggests

A survey of college IT staff published by Educause on Monday suggests attitudes toward generative AI are changing rapidly.

In February, 54% of survey respondents said they had an optimistic view of the technology. That figure increased to 67% in the latest survey, which was conducted April 10-11.

Of 441 survey respondents, 67% said they had used generative AI for work this academic year and 13% said they anticipated using tools such as ChatGPT in the near future. 

Uses of generative AI tools by college IT staff appear to fall into four categories — dreaming, drudgery, design and development —Mark McCormack, senior director of research and insights at Educause, said in a blog post sharing the survey findings.

“Although real risks arise that generative AI could be used to replace human activity in these areas, most respondents described generative AI more in assistive terms, as technologies that augment, rather than replace, human activity,” McCormark wrote.