Reacting to Generative AI: Insights from Student and Faculty Discussions on Reddit

Chuhao Wu, Xinyu Wang, John M. Carroll, Sarah Rajtmajer

Abstract: Generative Artificial intelligence (GenAI) such as ChatGPT has elicited strong reactions from almost all stakeholders across the education system. Education-oriented and academic social media communities provide an important venue for these stakeholders to share experiences and exchange ideas about GenAI, which is constructive for developing human-centered policies. This study examines early user reactions to GenAI, consisting of 725 Reddit threads between 06/2022 and 05/2023. Through natural language processing (NLP) and content analysis, we observe an increasingly negative sentiment in the discussion and identify six main categories of student and faculty experiences of GenAI in education. These experiences reflect concerns about academic integrity and AI’s negative impact on the values of traditional education. Our analysis also highlights the tension and burden imposed by new technologies. Our findings suggest that dialogue between stakeholders in the education community is critical and can mitigate sources of tension between students and faculty.