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Opinion piece: How artificial intelligence is reshaping education
Dr Susan Galavan, architect and lecturer in the Department of Architecture at Atlantic Technological University, Sligo writes for the Irish Times on how artificial intelligence is already transforming teaching, learning and assessment in higher education.
This opinion piece by Dr Susan Galavan, lecturer in Architecture at Atlantic Technological University (ATU), was first published in The Irish Times.
Artificial intelligence is here…and it is already rewriting the rules of education
As educators, our job is not to shield students from AI, but to prepare them for the reality of the working world
For students, AI isn’t just a novelty; it’s a tool and they’re using it more and more. A recent UK study found that 64 per cent of students now use the application to generate text, up from 30 per cent in 2024. Many rely on it as a learning aid: using it to clarify concepts, summarise articles and brainstorm ideas. Faced with a looming essay deadline, a student can also feed the question into ChatGPT, generate a convincingly written response, then run it through again to add academic references and a bibliography that looks – and often reads – authentic.
Given the pressures of long commutes and part-time jobs, it’s no wonder that some students are turning to these shortcuts to get work done.
Since the launch of the first version of ChatGPT in 2022, AI has exploded into our lives. Tech giants are locked in a billion-dollar arms race, churning out faster, smarter, more powerful versions of these tools with weekly regularity. While Silicon Valley accelerates, educators everywhere are left grappling with one pressing question: What does this mean for the future of learning?
As educators […] our job is not to shield students from AI, but to prepare them for the reality of the working world. In my profession of architecture, for instance, an estimated 59 per cent of practising architects in the UK now use AI for at least the occasional project, up from 41 per cent in 2024. These tools are already reshaping the profession – from visualising designs to managing projects and rethinking how practices operate and grow. Architectural firms are experimenting with tools that can generate faster design concepts, optimise building layouts for energy efficiency, or even flag project delays during construction.
Read the full piece in The Irish Times.
