Valencia. Young people promote the integration of AI in classrooms and professional environments, according to the first laboratory of the impact of technology on professions produced by the University of Alfonso X El Sabio, attended by more than 2,000 students and almost 400 teachers.
The study reveals that three out of four students under the age of 25 are using generative AI; Average usage among professionals is 36%, with 35 to 45 year olds using it the most (44%). With this data, the UAX Lab reports that future professionals (students) are twice as likely to use generative AI as current professionals.
Key uses for students include searching for information, solving doubts, and creating content. For their part, participating teachers and experts promise to use it in tasks such as creating materials, assessing students or preparing questions.
The first edition of this lab focused on generative artificial intelligence analyzes the penetration, perception and use of this technology by students and teachers, mostly active professionals, at UAX. Of the data presented, 73% of teachers feel that generative AI will change the way they engage in instruction with students, and 86% rate the importance of learning to use this technology as a teacher as high or very high. For their part, 63% of students say learning to use generative AI is important to their professional future and more than 50% say it helps their learning.
These data show the upward adoption of generative AI by the new generation, and the urgent need to integrate this technology into the processes and processes of both the business environment and the educational environment. “We are facing a paradigm shift in which technology is deeply embedded in business and society. As an academic institution, we have a responsibility to listen and understand the changes brought about by the emergence of new technologies. In the case of Generative AI, it is the new generation who will use it the most and encourage its integration into the work environment as they join it. Research makes it clear to us. So we need to prepare our students as value-minded professionals who understand this technology or any other upcoming one and know how to use it with a clear purpose to create positive social impact,” he says. Isabel FernandezRector of Alfonso X El Sabio University.
Future professionals
In general, the UAX Lab of Technology's Impact on Industries reveals high adoption of generative AI among industry professionals and faculty and students; However this penetration varies across sectors and study areas.
Therefore, the adoption rate of generative AI is doubled among future healthcare professionals trained in UAX, with 67%, compared to active professionals who use it in 29% of cases. Among the various faculties in the field, dentistry exhibits differences in adoption between current professionals (27%) and students entering the market in the coming years (72%).
Furthermore, the study also showed differences in adoption among working professionals from different fields. Those connected to education, engineering and business and technology (business and technology) make the most use of generative AI, with more than 50% of applications for their professional, research or teaching activities; Those related to health and sports use it the least, with a share close to 25%. For its part, adoption rates among arts-related professionals, where generative AI may be considered a threat, are higher than those practicing in fields such as veterinary medicine or dentistry.
Gemini
The observatory shows a great similarity between the usage rates of different generative AI tools among students and teachers, and ChatGPT is named almost 100% of the time. However, it is noteworthy that Gemini (an AI tool developed by Google, formerly known as Bart) achieved a 15% employment rate among professionals and teachers and 12% among students after one month of its launch.
Alphonsa. A practice that actively listens to the continuous development of their teaching methods and their degrees to align industry and students with the demands of the labor market. The observatory is a tool to periodically learn about the evolution of perception and adoption of technologies that are changing the work environment.
Therefore, the first edition of this laboratory is part of UAX's strategy to integrate generative AI in all its degrees in the 2024/2025 academic year, preparing its students to face the new work paradigm shaped by the impact of new technologies.
