BALANCING INDIVIDUAL EFFICIENCY AND COLLECTIVE ENGAGEMENT: THE DUAL IMPACT OF AI TOOLS ON GRADUATE STUDY PRACTICES

Abstract

This paper addresses the duality in terms of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools that influence graduate study practice centered around the conflict between personal effectiveness and social interaction. Although AI tools like ChatGPT, Grammarly, and QuillBot have become part of every academic, the ways in which they are affecting the culture of collaboration have yet to be studied. The study had a semi-structured interview design (focused on 120 graduate students) and followed the model of thematic analysis developed by Braun and Clarke (2006) in order to adhere to the principles of the social constructivist theory by Vygotsky (1978) and the engagement of semi- structured interviews with students of COMSATS University Islamabad, International Islamic University Islamabad, National University of Modern Languages, and Quaid-i-Azam University. The results showed that AI tools were largely useful, as they increased individual efficiency, productivity, language skills, and confidence. Immediate feedback, time-saving options, and language support were appreciated by the students, which gave them strength to achieve in their studies. Nevertheless, the research also revealed the disruptive impacts of AI implementation, such as poor originality, less critical thinking, and less peer-to-peer conversation. This paradox shows that AI has dual functions as a facilitator of individual success and destroyer of the culture of study as a group. The paper concludes by stating that AI must be perceived as a two-fold phenomenon that must be balanced. Teachers and legislators should find a way to employ the positive aspects of AI without sacrificing the collaborative culture. The strategies that can be applied practically are to encourage students to use AI when performing preliminary tasks and then hold group sessions in which the outputs of AI are critically assessed and elaborated. The research contextualized in the Pakistani setting would provide local knowledge to the global research as it is important to focus on culturally specific methods of AI integration in higher education.