ChatGPT and its Impact on Higher Education

Written by Nicholas Scibetta

OpenAI's Friday announcement that Iran attempted to use ChatGPT to influence the upcoming elections seemed to fly under the radar a bit, with news coverage appearing late Friday afternoon. Given the speed of the news cycle, it seemed to be only a blip by Saturday. 

It wasn't shocking that a primary target of the campaign was the upcoming U.S. election. However, the news also made me specifically think about higher education and the upcoming semester.

We can assume that bad actors will continue to deploy this tactic. To what degree of success it will have in stoking more tensions and protests on college campuses, which continue to be impacted by the reverberations of the last round of demonstrations, is yet to be seen. Couple this with the continuous wave of changes happening in higher ed overall, ranging from presidential shifts to continuing financial crises to faculty and staff cutbacks, and you have a bit of a powder keg scenario.

Communications and marketing teams went full tilt in dealing with the situation they were handed last semester. But unlike “traditional” crises, which often have a cycle to them, the recent protests didn’t follow a straight path but rather a round-a-bout that seems to be headed straight back to campus.

A number of campuses have proposed new rules for campus engagement this academic year, but only time will tell how those play out long term. Right now, communications and marketing teams can work with their internal and external partners to ensure alignment around the approach to this and other potential scenarios. Three foundational items must be addressed:

🔑 Planning & Preparedness

No one wants to lead during a crisis without plans, playbooks, and processes already in place. While each crisis is different, and no response will go exactly according to plan, being prepared is an expectation that every executive has for its Communications leaders.


🔑 Real-Time Crisis Response

Time and trust – two of the most essential elements for leading a successful crisis response. When every minute counts, you need a trusted partner to be your sounding board and gut check, to have your back in a war room (virtually or in person), and to roll up their sleeves and get to work immediately.

🔑 Training

The best-laid crisis communications plans and processes can easily be squandered if teams and spokespersons aren’t appropriately trained to ensure leaders across the institution are aligned during a crisis.

The seasoned team of higher education leaders at Nicholas Scibetta & Associates is available to help prepare for the anticipated––-and unanticipated––issues arising this academic year.

#crisis #highereducation #chatgpt #issuesplanning #communications