Macquarie University swaps in-person psychology classes with AI chatbot for two subjects
Macquarie University in Australia has replaced in-person classes in two mandatory Psychology units with an AI chatbot called 'Virtual Peer,' supplemented by online quizzes and optional online tutorials. The shift is part of a broader pattern of universities offloading teaching responsibilities to AI systems.
Why this matters: Students paying for a psychology degree are now getting a chatbot where a person used to be. That is a concrete change in what they are buying, even if the credits look the same on paper. Critics inside universities say this is how staff cuts get normalized — one subject at a time, framed as innovation. There is also a real question about what an AI chatbot is doing with student responses during scenario-based mental health exercises, and whether anyone has seriously thought about that.
Who should care: General readers · AI governance · Policy
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