Generative AI in business schools: friend or foe?

Since tools like ChatGPT arrived in higher education, the debate has focused on two extremes: either all students are committing devious academic fraud and plagiarism, or artificial intelligence will magically revolutionize learning.

The latest research project I co-authored with Anna Holland and conducted among management graduates in the UK suggests something more complicated and surprisingly more human.

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are increasingly being used in business and management education for tasks such as analyzing cases, brainstorming ideas, and writing reports, improving efficiency and personalized learning but also raising concerns about academic integrity and assessment design. AI knowledge and the ethical use of algorithmic tools are becoming essential management skills.

In a qualitative study aimed specifically at business students, we examined how they actually used ChatGPT in their final year and how they felt about it. To capture these…