2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Many artificial intelligence (AI) models such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Claude etc. are on the rise in use around the world. More specifically they have a place in educational institutions in how students use them for help with their coursework. In some instances, one could say that these AI models perform the duties of teachers and professors in aiding students. The rise of this technology could potentially leave many educators uneasy or insecure in their job right now or in the long term. The topic of AI in education is relevant to the comfort of educators within their work. This is a study that looks at how AI models affect how professors at University of Oklahoma do their jobs and their job security.
The study uses a mixed methods approach of qualitative and quantitative analysis through surveys and interviews. Students (14 undergraduate, 6 graduate) and professors (10 of them) alike fill the surveys and professors are interviewed (5 individual interviews). The data highlights how pertinent AI use is amongst students to do their coursework in relation to what professors can help them with. Survey and interview questions will be based on theoretical frameworks and previous literature on the topic. Theoretical frameworks are a combination of the job characteristics model, and technological determinism theorem. It asserts that as new technology (AI) reshapes how people do their jobs major aspects of professors’ jobs are impacted. The degree to which that influences professor’s job security is what is under contention. Professor data observes how comfortable professors are with AI being used by their students now and in the long term, and how secure they feel in their positions at the University of Oklahoma. The research answers the question “To what degree does AI’s impact of professors’ jobs affect their job security?”
Results suggest that while professors feel rather secure in their jobs at the moment, the effects of AI use by students disrupt significant aspects of their work. To be more precise, their connection to their students could be compromised and one of their purposes as professors is hindered by AI use. The paper concludes by suggesting further points of research in this topic by analyzing other academic fields and levels of study. Insights will be made into what makes a professor secure in this new global context in tertiary education.