Take 5: Pros and Cons

In our bimonthly Take 5 column, International Educator poses a thought-provoking prompt to five members of the NAFSA community. These international educators, who represent a diverse range of voices and perspectives, respond with their insights, recommendations, and personal reflections on the myriad themes and questions that are facing the field.

Choose a specific technology such as generative AI, chatbots, social media, or virtual learning. What’s one thing the technology is wonderful for? What’s its biggest downside?

Taya Carothers, Northwestern University
All of us use technology all day every day, and for me, it’s essential in my daily work across time zones and borders. I have learned to use generative AI quite regularly at work. After experimenting with this technology, I feel like I have a better grasp of why generative AI use is so debated right now.

It’s incredibly helpful for graphic and image generation, creating maps with pins in specific places, ensuring wording is accessible and concise, and conducting data analysis. It’s saved time for me and my team on those tasks and others. What generative AI cannot do, however, is provide insights or a deeper understanding of the implications of the data, wording, or whatever you’ve asked it to review. This is what we humans should still do!

Myle Duong, IES Abroad
Social media is one of the best tools we have for making international education feel more accessible and attainable. It allows us to share authentic student stories and experiences in a way that is immediate and personal. When students see people who look like them, who have overcome similar barriers, or who share similar backgrounds successfully studying abroad, they can begin to envision themselves as having those same opportunities. In this way, social media can broaden access, foster a sense of belonging, and help students see international education as a pathway to personal growth and global learning rather than something meant for someone else.

At the same time, social media is not a substitute for authentic intercultural learning. It can inspire students to explore the world and broaden their perspectives, but it cannot replicate the empathy, self-awareness, and personal growth that come from living and learning in another culture. Technology can open the door, but meaningful global learning and connection still happen through real experience.

Robin Garcha, IDP Education
Generative AI can help us learn, create, solve problems, and organize complex ideas in seconds. Need to draft a business plan? It can produce a strong first draft in minutes. Not sure what to cook for dinner? It can suggest recipes based on a photo of what’s in your fridge. I’ve even used it to compare running shoes. Its efficiency is remarkable.

However, what these technologies cannot truly replace is authentic human connection. AI can process data and simulate empathy, but it cannot genuinely understand lived experiences, build trust, share in moments of joy or grief, or create the sense of belonging that comes from meaningful relationships. The most important parts of life are rooted in shared experiences, vulnerability, and community.

In my view, technology is at its best when it enhances human capabilities rather than replaces them. AI can help us think more effectively, but people help us connect, empathize, and feel. In an increasingly digital world, the real risk is not that technology becomes more powerful, but that we become more isolated if we forget the value of genuine human connection.

Chris Larkin, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Generative AI is helpful for designing PowerPoint presentations and written communication. It saves me an enormous amount of time by providing a starting structure for a presentation or communication; then I can just review, update, and edit the details.

The biggest downside I see with generative AI, especially in the immigration field, is that people often use it to search for answers rather than as a guide to find them. For example, I typed the exact same question into ChatGPT and Google Gemini and got two completely different interpretations about J-1 transfers regarding 212(e) waivers. I feel that some are relying too much on AI for answers rather than using it as just another tool to generate their own interpretation of a regulation.

Tony Marotta, College of DuPage
As of late, with all the updates and changes coming, I’ve found myself using generative AI to help organize and make sense of it all. It’s a great tool for turning ideas into something usable quickly, especially in a rapidly changing environment. I’ve been using tools like ChatGPT and Gemini to brainstorm, organize complex information, draft communications, develop presentations and training materials, and think through complicated regulatory or policy questions. It helps me get from a blank page to a workable starting point much faster.

However, AI can make mistakes, misunderstand, or push beyond what you’ve asked. I’ve learned to carefully structure my prompts, review its work, and verify important information. Regulations, institutional policies, and individual circumstances require professional expertise and careful interpretation. Ultimately, AI can assist our work, but it cannot replace human judgment, empathy, accountability, or relationships. •