For partners 
Not long ago, the key skills of a successful student were considered to be the ability to find information, write quality essays, and memorize material well. Today, much of this can be done in seconds by artificial intelligence, so universities around the world are increasingly asking: how can you tell that a student has truly mastered the material, rather than simply used ChatGPT or another AI tool? This question is gradually changing approaches to studying and assessment.
For today's students, AI is no longer something unusual — it has become just as familiar a tool as search engines or online libraries. According to research by the CYD Foundation, artificial intelligence is used by 89% of students at Spanish universities; many turn to such services regularly, and some use them almost every day. Students use AI in different ways: to understand a complex topic, get an explanation of unclear material, draw up a work plan, or prepare a draft assignment. For many, it has already become a full-fledged digital study assistant, and that in itself is not a bad thing — the problem lies not in the very fact of using artificial intelligence, but in the fact that it is becoming harder for teachers to gauge a student's actual level of knowledge. Situations are arising more and more often where a student submits a perfectly written paper — error-free and well-structured — yet during a "live" discussion it turns out that they struggle to explain the main ideas or answer follow-up questions.
Familiar homework assignments and written papers no longer always allow knowledge to be assessed objectively. The situation is further complicated by the fact that many universities are encountering the use of AI even during exams, while existing systems for detecting AI-generated text are still far from ideal and do not provide one-hundred-percent accuracy.
To make sure that a student genuinely understands the material studied, some educational institutions are beginning to bring back older assessment formats. One of the most notable trends is the growing popularity of oral exams. During such a test it is impossible to simply copy a ready-made answer: the student must independently explain concepts, argue their position, and answer clarifying questions in real time. In addition, many universities are increasing the share of in-person tests and exams, reducing the percentage of assignments completed at home.
Questions related to artificial intelligence are today being discussed not only by teachers and students. In 2025, University of Almería held a special conference dedicated to the use of AI in the university environment. The occasion was a large number of cases involving conflict situations around the use of such technologies. Participants discussed not only issues of cheating or knowledge assessment, but broader topics also took center stage: personal data protection, algorithmic transparency, and the potential errors and biases of AI systems. The university community now views artificial intelligence not as a temporary trend, but as a factor that affects virtually every aspect of the educational process.
