Pros and cons of AI in universities

For Han Tianchu, an English major at Tsinghua University, artificial intelligence has become a double-edged sword — a tool that boosts learning efficiency, as well as a source of concern about the future of liberal arts education.

While tools like DeepSeek gain popularity in academic settings, students and professors alike are grappling with the opportunities and challenges posed by AI in higher education.

"DeepSeek has comprehensively reshaped the value of the English major and pushed me to think about how can I cultivate skills that AI can't replicate," Han said. "It's no longer enough to just be good at language or writing."

Han uses AI primarily as an enhanced search engine, often relying on it to retrieve basic information or clarify unfamiliar concepts. She said she occasionally uses AI to polish her English writing or to streamline the literature review process for research. However, she remains cautious.

"When I test AI with professional classroom content, I often find factual or interpretive errors," she said. To ensure accuracy, she cross-checks AI-generated content against original sources, particularly for coursework.

While Han regards AI as helpful but not indispensable, she is especially struck by the quality of DeepSeek's Chinese-language writing.

"It demonstrates a capacity for observation, critique and reasoning," she said. "That's a challenge to the very essence of liberal arts education."

Professors and AI experts, however, are generally more optimistic about the development of large language models like DeepSeek.

Huang Hua, dean of the School of Artificial Intelligence at Beijing Normal University, said the emergence of DeepSeek marks a turning point for higher education in China.

Its open-source release has reduced the cost of deploying such tools, and since Chinese New Year earlier this year, dozens of universities have adopted DeepSeek on campus.

"AI tools will comprehensively upgrade the quality and efficiency of teaching and academic research in universities, much like how information technology fueled the industrial revolution," Huang told China Daily in a recent interview.

According to Huang, AI has become an invaluable assistant to scholars, particularly in retrieving literature, summarizing research, answering queries, refining text and even proposing experimental designs based on existing studies.

"In my own experience, scholars and students are eager adopters of these tools, actively incorporating them into research and teaching," he said.

At Tsinghua University, Lu Diannan, a professor of chemical engineering, has integrated an AI teaching assistant into his course on chemical engineering thermodynamics.

Since its implementation in September last year, all 68 students in the class have used the tool. Lu said the average usage per student exceeded eight hours. Students asked more questions than they typically do during office hours, and 98 percent of them generated their own inquiries rather than using preset question prompts.

"This shows students were deeply engaging with the tool — even debating about it," Lu said.

Still, the integration of AI into education brings ethical considerations and concerns about over-reliance.

One of the most common concerns is that students might use AI to take shortcuts in their assignments. Lu said that while he allows students to use AI for their classwork, they must clearly indicate which parts were AI-assisted.

"This ensures the maintenance of scientific integrity and fosters ethical learning practices," he said.

Assignments fully generated by AI often lack depth, Lu noted. By contrast, assignments that involved interactive back-and-forth between students and the AI tool tended to be more comprehensive and interdisciplinary.

"The key to preventing students from over-relying on AI lies in assignment design," Lu said. "When students are encouraged to engage critically and reflectively with the tool, they invest more in refining their ideas."

Over the winter break, Lu's team integrated multiple AI models to improve the assistant's ability to handle complex technical content.

Huang said educators should embrace AI as a powerful tool for amplifying human intelligence, rather than fearing it as a crutch.

"The traditional model of education, which focuses on knowledge transmission, is increasingly inadequate in the AI era," he said. "AI makes accessing knowledge easier, but it also raises the bar for critical thinking and advanced reasoning skills."

To address worries about dependence, Huang compared AI tools to calculators.

"Calculators enhanced our computational ability but diminished mental arithmetic skills. Still, few people today worry about being overly dependent on calculators," he said.

"AI should be seen as a way to elevate our cognitive capacity, not replace it," Huang added. "With proper use, these tools will help students and educators meet future challenges with greater intellectual agility."

zhaoyimeng@chinadaily.com.cn

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