Implementation of Artificial Intelligence in Undergraduate Teaching: Perceptions of Academic Vice-Rectors at Chilean State Universities

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Higher Education, Pedagogical Transformation, Undergraduate Teaching, Extended Intelligence.

Abstract

This research analyzes the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into undergraduate teaching from the perspective of Academic Vice-Rectors at Chilean state universities. The study addresses the transformative potential of AI, the current state of institutional adoption, and the challenges for its effective implementation in face-to-face teaching. A qualitative, interpretive-constructivist, exploratory, and descriptive study was carried out through semi-structured interviews with six Academic Vice-Rectors of state universities, intentionally selected and geographically distributed in three areas of the country, following specific inclusion criteria, to then carry out content analysis. The analysis revealed that AI emerges as a potential "third subject" in educational interactions, shaping the concept of “Augmented Intelligence”, which suggests a radical reconfiguration of pedagogical processes. It was evident that the effective integration of AI transcends technological adaptations, requiring institutional, cultural, educational, regulatory, and conceptual transformations that are currently in their early stages. The findings reveal a critical moment of paradigmatic transition where the main challenges are fundamentally epistemological, ethical, and pedagogical. The research concludes that systemic responses are required that simultaneously address multiple dimensions, from regulatory frameworks to pedagogical transformations. It is crucial to establish inter-institutional spaces for dialogue and collaborative research to develop strategies that allow for leveraging the potential of AI in undergraduate teaching at state universities.

Author Biographies

Alberto Félix Lecaros Alvarado , Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences, Santiago, Chile

Ph.D. in Education from the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences, M.A. in Educational Informatics from the University of Chile. A pioneer in Chile in the application of Generative Artificial Intelligence for educational transformation. He combines training in educational research and project evaluation with experience in LMS development and the design of competency models for universities and government agencies. He coordinates the Certificate Program in Generative AI Models for Teachers 2025-2026 at the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences. Director of Innovation and Development at Keylearning Spa, leading digital transformation and educational innovation processes.

Óscar Germán Espinoza Díaz , University of Tarapacá, Santiago, Chile

Ph.D. in Educational Policy, Planning, and Evaluation from the University of Pittsburgh. Full professor at the University of Tarapacá and researcher at IESED-Chile. He has carried out projects and provided consulting services for international organizations such as UNESCO, the World Bank, and UNDP on issues of access, equity, quality, and public policy in higher education. He is a member of high-impact Ibero-American scientific networks, including Red IndicES, RICYT, and RIAIPE. His academic output includes 12 books, 75 book chapters, and 150 articles.

Tomás Pedro Thayer Morel, Austral University of Chile, Valdivia, Chile

Ph.D. in Subject-Specific Pedagogy (University of Valencia, 2025), M.A. in Education with a concentration in Educational Computing, and B.A. in Music (University of Chile). His career combines music, creativity, technology, and pedagogy. He studied the bansuri under senior master G.S. Sachdev from 1994 to 2018. He is currently an associate professor and researcher at the School of Musical and Sound Arts within the Faculty of Architecture and Arts at the Universidad Austral de Chile. He is a member of the music education research group at the University Institute for Creativity and Educational Innovations (IUCIE) at the University

María Elizabeth Alvarado Chávez, Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences, Santiago, Chile

Ph.D. in Education (Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences); M.A. in Gender and Cultural Studies with a concentration in the Humanities (University of Chile); Certificate in Gender, Culture, and Sexuality Studies (University of Chile); and B.A. in Sociology (University of Chile). Her career has focused on teaching, research, and academic administration in higher education, with expertise in institutional analysis, research methodology, inclusion, and university transformation. She has taught courses, advised theses, and participated in studies related to education, university policies, sexuality, racism, social memory, and gender inequalities.

References

Abulibdeh, A., Zaidan, E., & Abulibdeh, R. (2024). Navigating the confluence of artificial intelligence and education for sustainable development in the era of industry 4.0: Challenges, opportunities, and ethical dimensions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 437, Article 140527. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.140527

Álvarez Herrero, J. F. (2024). Opinión del alumnado universitario de educación sobre el uso de la IA en sus tareas académicas [Opinion of university students in education on the use of AI in their academic tasks]. European Public & Social Innovation Review, 9, 1–18. https://epsir.net/index.php/epsir/article/view/534

Brayan Díaz, & Nussbaum, M. (2024). Artificial intelligence for teaching and learning in schools: The need for pedagogical intelligence. Computers & Education, 217, Article 105071. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2024.105071

Cazau, P. (2006). Introducción a la investigación en Ciencias Sociales. https://www.academia.edu/39274663/Pablo_Cazau_INTRODUCCI%C3%93N_A_LA_INVESTIGACI%C3%93N_EN_CIENCIAS_SOCIALES

Centro de Perfeccionamiento, Experimentación e Investigaciones Pedagógicas (CPEIP). (2025, 13 de junio). Marco orientador de competencias digitales docentes. Ministerio de Educación. Recuperado de https://www.cpeip.cl/marco-orientador-competencias-digitales/

Consejo de Rectores de las Universidades Chilenas (CRUCH). (2023, 19 de octubre). Nueva directiva de Comisión de Vicerrectores/as Académicos/as presenta lineamientos estratégicos 2023-2025. Consejo de Rectores de las Universidades Chilenas. https://consejoderectores.cl/2023/10/19/nueva-directiva-de-comision-de-vicerrectores-as-academicos-as-presenta-lineamientos-estrategicos-2023-2025/

Chang, S. C., & Chang, Y. C. (2026). Teaching practices and effectiveness evaluation of AI courses assisted by large language models. In H. Fujita, Y. Watanobe, M. Ali, & Y. Wang (Eds.), Advances and trends in artificial intelligence. Theory and applications. IEA/AIE 2025. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (Vol. 15707, pp. 89–100). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-8892-0_8


Dembitska, S., Kobylianskyi, O., Nahorniak, S., Puhach, V., & Tatarchuk, V. (2025). Usage of artificial intelligence for the individualization of learning in the institutions of higher education. In Futureproofing engineering education for global responsibility: Proceedings of the 27th International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning (ICL2024), Volume 1 (pp. 199–207). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-85652-5_21

Digital Education Council. (2025). Global AI Faculty Survey 2025: Key findings on adoption, literacy, and institutional support. https://www.winssolutions.org/ai-challenges-training-gaps-universities/
Donoso Díaz, S. (2024). La política educacional chilena en el presupuesto 2024: Tendencias, lógicas y desafíos. Educação & Sociedade, 45, e286423. https://doi.org/10.1590/ES.286423


Espejo Aubá, P. C. (2024). La Inteligencia Artificial en educación: percepciones y saberes de los docentes. European Public & Social Innovation Review, 9, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.31637/epsir-2024-898

Gardner, H. (2011). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences (30th anniversary ed.). Basic Books.

Gardner, H. (2003). Multiple intelligences after twenty years (Vol. 21). American Educational Research Association.

Gardner, H. (2022, 16 de junio). Pedagogical (teaching) intelligence: Some intriguing findings. Multiple Intelligences Oasis. https://www.multipleintelligencesoasis.org/blog/2022/6/16/pedagogical-teaching-intelligence-some-intriguing-findings

Ganguli, D., et al. (2022). Predictability and surprise in large generative models. In FAccT '22: Proceedings of the 2022 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (pp. 1747–1764). https://doi.org/10.1145/3531146.3533229

Gilson, A., Safranek, C. W., Huang, T., Socrates, V., Chi, L., Taylor, R. A., et al. (2023). How does ChatGPT perform on the United States medical licensing examination? The implications of large language models for medical education and knowledge assessment. JMIR Medical Education, 9(1), Article e45312. https://doi.org/10.2196/45312

Guzmán, A. L., & Lewis, S. C. (2019). Inteligencia artificial y comunicación: Una agenda de investigación en comunicación hombre máquina. New Media & Society, 22(1), 70–86. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444819858691

Holmes, W., & Miao, F. (2023). Guía para el uso de IA generativa en educación e investigación. UNESCO Publishing. https://doi.org/10.54675/EWZM9535

Holmes, W., & Tuomi, I. (2022). Futures of artificial intelligence in education. European Journal of Education, 57(4), 531–691. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12533

Kroff, F., & Vera, R. (2023). Inteligencia artificial en la educación universitaria. Revista Espacios, 45(5), 9. https://doi.org/10.48082/espacios-a24v45n05p09

Krippendorff, K. (1980). Metodología de análisis de contenido: Teoría y práctica. Paidós.

Kyambade, M., Namatovu, A., & Male Ssentumbwe, A. (2025). Exploring the evolution of artificial intelligence in education: From AI guided learning to learner personalized paradigms. Cogent Education, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2025.2505297

Lago Ávila, M. J., & Pérez Hurtado, M. (2024). La IA en la educación superior: Formando profesionales más competitivos y empleables. European Public & Social Innovation Review, 9, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.31637/epsir-2024-859
Levari, D., Gilbert, D., & Wilson, T. (2022). Tips from the top: Do the best performers really give the best advice? Psychological Science, 33(5), 685–698. https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976211054089

Litardo, J. T., Wong, C. R., Ruiz, S. M., & Benites, K. P. (2023). Retos y oportunidades docente en la implementación de la inteligencia artificial en la educación superior ecuatoriana. South Florida Journal of Development, 4(2), 867–889. https://doi.org/10.46932/sfjdv4n2-020


Martínez Rolan, X. M., Cabezuelo Lorenzo, F., & Oliveira, L. (2025). Los nuevos escenarios de la sociedad digital ante el reto de la Inteligencia Artificial Generativa (IA). Encontros Bibli: Revista Electrónica de Bibliotecología y Ciencias de la Información, 30, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.5007/1518-2924.2025.e105080

Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología, Conocimiento e Innovación. (2021). Política Nacional de Inteligencia Artificial Chile (2021). https://minciencia.gob.cl/uploads/filer_public/4a/ce/4acec1c3-9219-46bb-b78f-74f851c3403d/plan_de_accion_ia_v2.pdf

Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología, Conocimiento e Innovación. (2024). Política Nacional de Inteligencia Artificial: Actualización 2024. Gobierno de Chile. https://cens.cl/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Politica-Nacional-de-IA-Actualizada-2-05.pdf

Morales García, W. C., Sairitupa Sanchez, L. Z., Flores Paredes, A., Pascual Mariño, J., & Morales García, M. (2025). Influence of self efficacy in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and anxiety toward AI use on AI dependence among Peruvian university students. Data and Metadata, 4, 210. https://doi.org/10.56294/dm2025210

Moravec, J. W., & Martínez Bravo, M. C. (2023). Global trends in disruptive technological change: Social and policy implications for education. On the Horizon, 31(3/4), 147–173. https://doi.org/10.1108/OTH-02-2023-0007

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT: Optimizing language models for dialogue. https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/

Ojeda, A. D., Solano Barliza, A. D., Alvarez, D. O., & Cárcamo, E. B. (2023). Análisis del impacto de la inteligencia artificial ChatGPT en los procesos de enseñanza y aprendizaje en la educación universitaria. Formación universitaria, 16(6), 61–70. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-50062023000600061

Ossa, C., & Willatt, C. (2023). Uso de inteligencia artificial generativa para retroalimentar escritura académica en procesos de Formación Inicial Docente. European Journal of Education and Psychology, 16(2), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.32457/ejep.v16i2.2412

Pedraja Rejas, L. M., Marchioni Choque, I. A., Espinoza Marchant, C. J., & Muñoz Fritis, C. P. (2020). Leadership and organizational culture as influencing factors in the quality of higher education: Conceptual analysis. Formación universitaria, 13(5), 3–14. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-50062020000500003

Piedra, J. (2025). Desafíos políticos y normativos de la inteligencia artificial: Aspectos generales para su discusión en América Latina. Astrolabio: Revista Internacional De Filosofía, 1(30), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1344/astrolabio.v1i30.50112

Punziano, G. (2025). Adaptive epistemology: Generative AI adoption as a paradigm shift in social sciences. Societies, 15(7), 205. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc15070205

Quintana Bernal, M. R., Sancan Rivera, M. J., Landázuri Castillo, M. V., Abril Cócheres, D. G., & Mora Pita, M. E. (2024). Globalización y cultura: Impacto de la integración económica y tecnológica en identidades sociales y tradiciones locales globales y locales. LATAM Revista Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, 5(4), 1616–1637. https://doi.org/10.56712/latam.v5i4.2364

Rodríguez, G., Gil, J., & García, E. (1999). Metodología de la investigación cualitativa. Ediciones Aljibe.
Schmidt, E. (2025, 5 de junio). Eric Schmidt alerta sobre el avance imparable de la inteligencia artificial. Infobae. https://www.infobae.com/tecno/2025/06/05/eric-schmidt-alerta-sobre-el-avance-imparable-de-la-inteligencia-artificial/

Shen, M., Shen, Y., Liu, F., & Jin, J. (2025). Prompts, privacy, and personalized learning: Integrating AI into nursing education—a qualitative study. BMC Nursing, 24, Article 470. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03115-8


Sisman Ugur, S. (2025). Integrating AGI and transhumanist technologies into education: An integrative cognitive enhancement framework and ethical implications. In M. Iklé, A. Kolonin, & M. Bennett (Eds.), Artificial General Intelligence. AGI 2025. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (Vol. 16058, pp. 231–249). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-00800-8_21

Sjödin, D., et al. (2021). How AI capabilities enable business model innovation: Scaling AI through co evolutionary processes and feedback loops. Journal of Business Research, 134, 574–587. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.05.009

Sposato, M. (2025). Artificial intelligence in educational leadership: A comprehensive taxonomy and future directions. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 22(1), Article 517. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-025-00517-1


UK Government. (2023, 1 de noviembre). The Bletchley Declaration by countries attending the AI Safety Summit, 1–2 November 2023. Department for Science, Innovation and Technology; Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office; Prime Minister's Office. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-safety-summit-2023-the-bletchley-declaration

UNESCO. (2021). Recommendation on the ethics of artificial intelligence. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000380455

UNESCO. (2023). La inteligencia artificial: Necesitamos una nueva educación. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000386262/PDF/386262spa.pdf.multi

UNESCO. (2023, 7 de septiembre). Guidance for generative AI in education and research [Guía global sobre inteligencia artificial generativa en educación e investigación]. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/guidance-generative-ai-education-and-research

UNESCO. (2024). AI competency framework for teachers. Competencias docentes en IA. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000391104

Urquiza, A. (2025). Opinión: Universidades públicas en la era de la IA: entre la urgencia y la oportunidad. Universidad de Chile. https://uchile.cl/noticias/228451/opinion-universidades-publicas-en-la-era-de-la-ia
Wong, W., Aristidou, A., & Scheuermann, K. (2025). The future of learning or the future of dividing? Exploring the impact of general artificial intelligence on higher education. Data & Policy, 7, e1011. https://doi.org/10.1017/dap.2025.10011

Wayne Holmes, & Tuomi, I. (2022). Futures of artificial intelligence in education. European Journal of Education, 57(4), 531–691. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12533

Zawacki Richter, O., Marín, V. I., Bond, M., et al. (2019). Systematic review of research on artificial intelligence applications in higher education – Where are the educators? International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-019-0171-0
Published
2026-05-30
How to Cite
Lecaros Alvarado , A. F., Espinoza Díaz , Óscar G., Thayer Morel, T. P., & Alvarado Chávez, M. E. (2026). Implementation of Artificial Intelligence in Undergraduate Teaching: Perceptions of Academic Vice-Rectors at Chilean State Universities. Higher Education and Society Journal (ESS), 37(2), 46-67. https://doi.org/10.54674/ess.v37i2.1090