As an academic at an Australian higher education institution, it is difficult to ignore the expanding role of artificial intelligence. Often it has felt as though I’ve been grabbed by the throat and hit below the belt: AI begins to speak in place of the student while simultaneously undermining the integrity of assessment. Teaching has become a negotiation over authenticity and marking an exercise in doubt.

Opinion towards AI in education is still sharply divided. Some educators view it as a direct threat to academic integrity, while others recognise its potential as a powerful teaching aid – capable of providing personalised feedback and support at a scale previously unimaginable. To dismiss these tools outright is not only to overlook their capabilities, but to risk leaving students ill-equipped for the technological realities they will inevitably face.

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This tension is not confined to the classroom. In the creative sphere, AI does not replace the artist any more than it replaces the student; rather, it introduces a new layer of collaboration – one that challenges traditional boundaries while opening new avenues for...