AI in Education: Assessment at risk or curriculum rethink needed?

In this think piece written for the University World News, Cristina Costa presents some of her latest reflections on the arrival of generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen-AI) and how it has sparked a flurry of activity and concern in (higher) education.

This think piece rotates around one key observation, that Universities have been focused mostly on one pressing question: how to design assessments that are ‘AI secure’. This framing, she argues, casts students as at risk of such technological implementations that have been deemed inevitable, while positioning them as both potential cheaters and the innovative workforce of the future. The contradiction is striking and revealing.

Cristina Costa points out that this tension exposes a deeper problem: a curriculum crisis rooted in transactional, performative approaches to learning. When education prioritises measurable outputs over intellectual engagement, students may turn to Gen-AI not out of malice but because learning becomes a game to win and therefore feels artificial and disconnected from real life needs.

Rather than doubling down on “AI-proof” assessments, Cristina calls for a curriculum rethink, one that

1. moves beyond crisis management: Treating Gen-AI as a provocation to reimagine education, not as a threat.
2. reclaims relational learning: Teaching is more than content delivery; it is about dialogue, curiosity, and shared meaning.
3. prioritises relevance: Curriculum design experiences that connect to real-world contexts and foster critical inquiry.
4. challenges the idea of learning efficiency: Resisting the temptation to outsource thinking. Intellectual effort is essential for autonomy and creativity.
5. reframing criticality: Shift from problem-solving to problem-posing, so that individuals are encouraged to ask who Gen-AI (dis)(em)powers, and why.

Ultimately, the debate is not about technology but purpose. If higher education aims only to credentialise for the labour market, automation will prevail. But if its mission is to cultivate critical, creative citizens, institutions have a long road ahead of them to resist technocratic shortcuts and embrace education’s emancipatory potential.

The key message of this think piece is the following: Gen-AI is not the enemy per se, but it can be an invitation to rethink what education is, and what we stands for. This applies to higher education, other education sectors as well as other areas of knowledge work.

Read more about Cristina’s ideas regarding this topic here (free download):

Costa, C., & Murphy, M. (2025). Generative artificial intelligence in education: (What) are we thinking? Learning, Media and Technology, 0(0), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2025.2518258

Costa, C., & Murphy, M. (2025). Critical education, generative artificial intelligence and the tyranny of freedom: A critique of modern ‘technocracy’. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 0(0), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/1475939X.2025.2547728

Costa, C., Bhatia, P., Murphy, M., & Pereira, A. L. (2023). Digital Education Colonized by Design: Curriculum Reimagined. Education Sciences, 13(9), 895. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13090895