Enterprising Academics: Heterarchical Policy Networks for Artificial Intelligence in British Higher Education

Abstract

There is limited scholarship on artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education governance, though AI-powered technologies are becoming prevalent in many fields, and education is no exception. However, the technology is still nascent and has not reached its full potential, thus ideas and arguments abound, championing or cautioning against the use of these technologies. To fill this gap in studies of policy networks of AI in British higher education, this article employs network ethnography and discourse analysis to study how ideas about AI-powered technologies in higher education circulate in policy networks in the United Kingdom. The findings evidence a policy network showing signs of a heterarchy that is permeated by neoliberal rationales, and policy actors are actively promoting artificial intelligence technologies to be used in education. This paper expands on existing research by looking at the university and not-for-profit sectors, in addition to the governmental and educational technology, and employs network ethnography, which allows for an expanded understanding of the policy actors involved, and a critical analysis of the ideas circulating.