Perspectives of Faculty on the Easiness and Usefulness of AI Tutoring Systems in Higher Education

No one can deny that AI is becoming an integral part of many aspects of the educational field. One major use of AI is the AI-enabled tutoring systems. These play an important role in students’ progress and improvement levels. However, being a new concept, it was necessary to explore them further to know more about their perceived usefulness and ease of use. The focus of this study was on faculty as one of the most important stakeholders. Aiming to create a robust conceptual framework, this study used the technology acceptance model (TAM) combined with elements of the constructivism learning theory and socio-technical systems theory (STS). The study explored the faculty’s perceptions about the usefulness and ease of using AI tutoring systems. The study employed a survey comprised of 15 Likert scale questions where the answers varied from strongly agree to strongly disagree, addressing the psychological, pedagogical, and organisational aspects of the use of AI tutoring systems from the perspective of Higher Education teachers in the United Arab Emirates. For that purpose, 50 teachers participated in the anonymous survey, and despite the challenges pointed out by some, most participants found the use of AI tutoring systems very useful. In addition, the study found that these tools are relatively easy to use by students whose first language is not English, with minimum faculty guidance and facilitation, while at the same time ensuring fairness and equity. This study aimed to open the path to further exploration of the use of AI tutoring systems by other key stakeholders, such as students and policymakers.