Australian University Introduces AI Chatbot for Psychology Subjects

An Australian university has introduced an AI chatbot into the weekly teaching of two compulsory psychology subjects, in a move that academics fear could be “damaging”.

Macquarie University’s chatbot, called Virtual Peer, interacts with students during their coursework, asking questions and guiding them through exercises built around different scenarios.

The university, however, maintains that the chatbot isn’t a replacement for conventional teaching.

It says the AI chatbot’s activities are optional, with students also expected to work through online readings, quizzes and videos. Assessments are done separately through research assignments and examinations.

The university plans to bring classroom teaching back in 2027, with in-person and online formats in alternating semesters.

The shift nevertheless sparked concern among students, particularly after the two subjects moved online for the second semester. Both had offered face-to-face teaching earlier in the year.

An anonymous student said they felt “short-changed” after problems with their degree structure meant they had to take the online version.

“Instead of a group discussion or a tutor teaching you, it’s a class activity done with a robot,” the student was quoted as saying by the Guardian. “I feel like I’m teaching this robot how to take jobs away from my teachers.”

The online courses previously offered optional weekly Zoom tutorials by paid academics. Those tutorials are now provided as the main teaching activity by Virtual Peer, alongside digital course material and videos.

Macquarie said the chatbot was developed alongside educators and was intended to complement their work rather than eliminate it. Academics using the system provide and verify the material on which it is based, which the university says gives it a more subject-specific foundation than general-purpose AI systems.

The University of Sydney has also expanded its use of AI through Cogniti, an education-focused generative AI platform used by hundreds of academics for chatbots and scenario-based learning.

The university has reportedly made the system available to institutions in Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands.

But the prospect of AI assuming more teaching responsibilities has unsettled university staff.

Dr Alison Barnes, an academic at Macquarie, said the concerns extended beyond individual universities. “University staff are being hammered by a workload crisis, but simply papering over those cracks with piecemeal AI rollouts could actually create even more damaging issues.”