A Survey of Staff Engagement with GenAI Tools

The initial concern of the widespread engagement with Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI or GAI) was the threat that this technology posed to the academic integrity of student assessments in the 2022/23 year. However, nearly two years since the release of ChatGPT, this study investigates whether academics and staff now utilise GenAI for their work activity. The purpose of this study was twofold: 1) to investigate uptake of GenAI amongst staff, and 2) specifically the use of the Microsoft Copilot (was Bing Chat) which is preferred by the institution. Of the 108 academic staff who opened the internally circulated survey, 24 participants completed the survey, which consisted of five Likert scale questions, and replicated the questions circulated by Watermeyer and co-researchers in their 2023 study. This 2024 internal study of BNU staff found that some 71% have used a GenAI tool for work purposes in the 2023/24 academic year, which is consistent with findings from recent literature. Furthermore, this 2024 internal study found that 54% of colleagues have used ChatGPT within the past six months (first six months of 2024), whereas 21% of colleagues have used the Microsoft Copilot.