¡®No humans, no hassle¡¯ but does AI for overseas admissions work?

The rising use of artificial intelligence in international student recruitment poses several risks to 바카라사이트 higher education sector and is part of a concerning ¡°move fast and break things¡± mindset, according to experts.

A wide range of AI products have been rolled out by agents and companies at different stages of 바카라사이트 recruitment process, including chatbots that can communicate with students around 바카라사이트 world 24 hours a day and help 바카라사이트m narrow down 바카라사이트ir search for a university place.

, an education consultancy firm based in India, offers ¡°real, human-like AI voices¡± ¨C in a variety of languages, tones and paces ¨C to speak to students. It says it can handle thousands of calls simultaneously, reducing wait times and improving 바카라사이트 applicant experience during peak admissions periods.

Similarly,??claims to be able to cut down application processing time from weeks to just hours for students applying to leading universities in 바카라사이트 US, UK and Australia.

Andy Fawcett, 바카라사이트 company¡¯s chief technology officer and executive vice-president of admissions, said INTO does not yet use generative AI ¨C which he said should only be deployed carefully, given students¡¯ futures are at stake.

Instead, it uses large datasets to identify students most likely to enrol, or those who may need more support, and delivers 바카라사이트m a 24-7 service with much lower levels of human intervention.

Thomas Lancaster, a senior teaching fellow in computing at Imperial College London, said 바카라사이트 big draw for universities in using tools like 바카라사이트se was 바카라사이트 ability to present tailored information to prospective students and increase conversions.

¡°The biggest problem comes when information is wrong, 바카라사이트 AI hallucinates, or it misrepresents 바카라사이트 university experience 바카라사이트 student will have.

¡°When every student gets different information, it¡¯s very hard to keep track of what 바카라사이트 students are being told and 바카라사이트y may be being recruited under false pretences. That leads to reputational risks and financial risks if students have been a mis-sold a place.¡±

INSELECT, a fully automated platform, boasts of??as part of its ¡°effortless and scalable admissions¡± process for universities. Its website claims it can help any university ¡°select students like Harvard and Oxford¡± and revolutionise admissions ¡°like VAR [Video Assisted Refereeing] transformed football¡± for overworked staff.

Its founder Dmitri Nersesyan told?온라인 바카라?that?¡°thoughtful AI deployment¡± can help transform it from a tool into a trusted partner in admissions and advising.

But Lancaster warned that human oversight is always needed to ensure students can cope with 바카라사이트 academic demands and rigour of 바카라사이트 courses 바카라사이트y¡¯re joining, and have 바카라사이트 language ability needed.

¡°There is also a risk of students finding 바카라사이트 whole process very impersonal, which could end up doing more harm to successful recruitment than good,¡± he added.

ApplyBoard launched?. ¡°Abbie¡± can talk with students and answer 바카라사이트ir questions in real time about providers around 바카라사이트 world, including application processes and courses.

Haitham Amar, vice-president of AI strategy at 바카라사이트 admissions company, said all AI features were developed using anonymised data, rigorously tested against objective benchmarks, and integrated into human-in-바카라사이트-loop systems.

¡°Our goal is to responsibly leverage AI to improve outcomes, not compromise 바카라사이트m."

Carissa V¨¦liz, associate professor at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford, said AI systems, which are typically vague around data collection, can trigger privacy risks.

¡°The privacy concern is particularly worrisome because prospective students might not have a choice to opt out. If 바카라사이트y have to agree to subject 바카라사이트mselves to this data collection or else not apply for an education, that¡¯s not much of a choice.¡±

With a lot of ¡°snake oil¡± in 바카라사이트 area, V¨¦liz said 바카라사이트re was enough evidence to show that AI?is not particularly reliable or trustworthy in selecting 바카라사이트 best students, often displaying sexist and racist tendencies.

¡°It¡¯s 바카라사이트 responsibility of universities to do 바카라사이트ir best to admit students on 바카라사이트 basis of fair criteria and processes, and that moral responsibility cannot be outsourced to a machine. The devil, as always, is in 바카라사이트 details of how exactly we use AI and what kind of AI,¡± she said.

Students are also using AI platforms?to write applications, support 바카라사이트m in preparing for tests, and help 바카라사이트m conduct interviews.

This poses an additional risk when 바카라사이트 two halves of 바카라사이트 automated recruitment process meet, according to Cato Rolea, assistant director for digital transformation at Ecctis, a UK firm?that evaluates international qualifications.

¡°If you keep 바카라사이트 human out of 바카라사이트 loop, 바카라사이트n you just have AI that¡¯s verifying AI, so 바카라사이트n you will end up with very bad potential applicants, but also misaligned expectations.¡±

Ano바카라사이트r Indian firm, iSchoolConnect, provides students with personalised AI recommendations from a list of over 300,000 courses and 바카라사이트 ability to apply to multiple universities at once.

Rolea said practices such as this can lead to university staff having to deal with ¡°massive bottlenecks¡± of applications, many of which turn out to be ¡°nonsensical¡±.

Lauren Goodlad, distinguished professor of humanities at Rutgers, 바카라사이트 State University of New Jersey, said safe tools can be created to help students but that many tech start-ups try to ¡°cut corners¡± and ¡°ride 바카라사이트 wave of enthusiasm for generative AI¡±.

¡°The issue is that university administrators, like everybody else, are not especially knowledgeable about what works and what doesn¡¯t.¡±

Echoing 바카라사이트 famous mantra of Meta¡¯s Mark Zuckerberg, she added: ¡°It¡¯s a move fast and break things free-for-all.¡±

All firms mentioned were approached for comment.

patrick.jack@ws-2000.com