Vol.:(0123456789) Prospects https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-023-09642-z 1 3 VIEWPOINTS/ CONTROVERSIES The optimistic future of Artifcial Intelligence in higher education Miguel Ángel Escotet 1 Accepted: 28 May 2023 © The Author(s) under exclusive licence to UNESCO International Bureau of Education 2023 Abstract Artifcial Intelligence is a fast-evolving technology with enormous potential for education, higher education, and learning. AI can also negatively impact how socie- ties and their citizens engage ethically with these generated, still-unexplored tools. These technological breakthroughs present both opportunity and potential peril. The problem of any new technological advancement depends not upon the technology itself but its prac- titioners. The article takes the optimistic side for the future of higher education. While being cautious about engaging with these technology applications, it presents an overview of generated AI (GenAI) for higher education such as ChatGPT, MidJourney or Codex, and “AI-driven learning”. AI technologies like Natural Language Processing (NLP), automated performance enhancement (APE), intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs), personalized learn- ing systems (PLS), VR and AR, sentiment analysis, and many more can apply to diferent areas of teaching, learning, research, and service to society. Some AI immediate applica- tions include student support, tutoring personalization, automated qualitative and quantita- tive grading and assessment, education data analytics, course programs, content develop- ment and educational planning, administration, and academic performance. Keywords AI · Future · Higher education · Learning Although the frst historical references to artifcial intelligence date back to the 1930s with Alan Turing, the starting point of AI is, precisely, the year 1950, when Turing published an article entitled “Computing machinery and intelligence” in the journal Mind. Already, in 1943, the article “A logical calculus of the ideas immanent in nervous activity”, by War- ren McCullough and Walter Pitts, was the frst mathematical model for creating a neural network (Escotet, 1987). However, 2023 will likely be considered, in the future, the year of exponential growth in artifcial intelligence. * Miguel Ángel Escotet rector@uie.edu 1 Intercontinental University of Business (UIE), Rua Nova, 33, Santiago de Compostela, Spain