The impact of artificial intelligence and its evolving role in the world of teaching learning is one of the most discussed topics in higher education today, but what do UWE Bristol students think about AI? What do they – or don’t they – use it for? How are they drawing on their own experiences and expertise, alongside guidance from academics or institutions, to form their own personal AI ethos?
In the newest episode of UWE’s Higher Education Matters vodcast, Student Digital Leaders Mickel Georges (Computer Science), Sasirindu Hamangoda (Aerospace Engineering), and Aniq Yusoff (Robotics) shared their perspectives and experience on all things AI in education. After filming, I sat down with another Student Digital Leader, Valeria Lanza Pariente (Computer Science), to highlight some of her thoughts that didn’t make it to camera.
How are you and your peers at UWE using AI? How frequently do you use it and for what sort of tasks?
Valeria: We mainly use AI as a very helpful tool – very often, I dare to say. AI for us students is faster than any other tool, even a traditional Google search. AI answers are all more direct, specific and they adapt to our different needs and patterns using the algorithm. For example, I might prompt AI to give me bullet points for a presentation using wording that is easy to understand. Sometimes I prompt it to adjust its complicated tone to “chill” or “Gen Z” wording to match the way I speak. I would also ask it to give me possible questions that tutors might ask me about my presentation so I can prepare answers.
I asked many of my friends and all of them said they use it at least once a day, every day, mostly for completing assignments, learning, research, and even daily tasks. I would say that’s the ‘new normal’ at UWE. Of course, there are some of them that, for example, just started using AI this year. There are a few students that use it to do the work for them and just copy and paste everything without even knowing what they did.
How confident do you think students at UWE are about using AI? Do you think there are some that still feel hesitant or opposed to using it and, if so, why?
Valeria: Definitely. I’ve met a few people that refused to use AI, justifying it with phrases like ‘I actually want to learn’ or ‘I know how to use my brain.’ I would tell them to be more open minded. AI is not the bad guy, it just depends how you use it. Of course, if you copy and paste an AI output and then submit, that’s not good, but that’s your decision, not the AI’s. Challenge the AI. Have a conversation with it. That’s using your brain.
Of course, these kinds of students are just a few. The remaining majority of students, including myself, do feel very comfortable using AI. It is actually very useful if you use it wisely, trying different prompts, exploring different features and keeping up to date with new AI models.
Technologically speaking, we feel very confident but, of course, some of us have concerns. For example:
- environmental consequences of using AI too much
- our personal information being shared
- the accuracy of the information.
How do you make sure you’re using AI to support your own learning rather than replace it?
Valeria: Personally, I try to read everything the AI gives me and sometimes, if I don’t understand, I ask it to explain it to me in a way that I know I’m going to understand. For example, I use a prompt to investigate, find sources, go through each source and read them. Or, if it’s a task, I ask for help with step by step instructions on how to do it, rather than the AI doing it itself.
One thing about AI is that you can easily get too comfortable because it can do everything for you, leaving you kind of useless, so you have to be aware of that. There’s no point of using this tool for help if you’re not going to learn anything from it.
If an academic at UWE asked you for advice on how they should use AI, what would you say?
Valeria: I would first give a basic introduction of what AI is and what it really does, then tell them to investigate a few prompts they can use depending on their needs, and, of course, tell them to take care with their personal information and be careful of what they share with AI. I would tell them that using AI is both easy and dangerous and sometimes not very trustworthy, because it can make mistakes.
What if they asked you how they should talk with their students about AI?
Valeria: In my case, as a Computer Science student, tutors are very open about AI. In many lectures, they explain to us how it works, how to use it, and, in some cases, how to build it. Each tutor specifies how we can use AI in their modules and the limits of that use. They specify that we can use it as a support tool and in every module they highlight the misuse of AI and the consequences for it.
They’re letting us use AI for our assignments – of course, with limitations. I think because they know we as computer science students are the ones responsible for building these models, we need to know how they work in general, plus everything else there is to know about them. The assessments are designed in a way that students are not going to get a perfect result from using AI alone. I would recommend this for other programmes, too. AI is a tool, not an enemy.
How do you think AI impacts employability for UWE students?
Valeria: I think AI is just a massive boost for us. It’s not about the tech replacing our jobs, but about us using it to work way faster. Employers want people who can lead the AI and not just use it. Basically, it’s a tool that lets us focus on the creative, human side of our projects while the AI handles the repetitive stuff.
What is one message you want to get across to UWE academics about AI?
Students are going to use AI regardless of what you do, so instead of being hesitant about it, be more open. Teach us how to use it as a tool but not something that is going to solve everything for you. That’s going to build confidence for staff and students.
Conclusion: The power of student perspectives in the AI conversation
Throughout my conversations with Valeria, Mickel, Sasirindu, Aniq, and UWE’s other Student Digital Leaders, I am again and again struck by how each of them has developed a personal ethos around AI. Far from the generalised image some in higher education might have of students using AI carelessly or without much thought for their own learning, these students are putting great care into their decision-making when it comes to AI – drawing lines around ethical use, considering AI’s strengths and limitations, and prioritising use cases that support and enhance learning, not replace it.
In this regard, the UWE students I spoke to embody a trend identified in research conducted by Wonkhe, which found that many students are “actively constructing personal ethical frameworks – theories of practice about the relationship between [AI] tools, effort, learning, and identity” (Dickinson and Marshall 2026). The researchers add that students’ perspectives on AI are “a resource the sector has barely begun to draw on” (Dickinson and Marshall 2026), despite the ample evidence that students are approaching these questions with creativity and ethical rigor. Any institutional or sector-wide conversations on AI that fail to account for student voices run the risk of missing out on a valuable well of experience and knowledge.
To hear more from Valeria’s Student Digital Leader colleagues, you can watch the entire vodcast episode below or on the Higher Education Matters YouTube.