GenAI and the Mirage of Personalised Learning for All
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University of Wollongong
Australia -
UNSW Sydney, Australia Australia
Abstract
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is gaining attention in education, particularly for its potential to personalise learning. However, studies have yet to assess its effectiveness and identify its limitations within controlled educational contexts across various disciplines and GenAI models. This study aims to help fill this gap by evaluating ‘SmartTest’, a GenAI chatbot designed by the authors to prompt questions, offer immediate feedback, and stimulate critical thinking through conversational nudges. Over five test cycles, SmartTest was used in a criminal law course at an Australian university. The results revealed SmartTest struggled with complex structured problem-solving exercises. While SmartTest showed some promise in aiding short-answer question learning, it remained limited and prone to inaccuracies. These findings highlight concerns that inflated expectations of GenAI could mislead educators and investors about its capabilities to deliver economically viable and quality personalised learning.
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Author Biographies
Dr Armin Alimardani is a Lecturer in Law and Emerging Technologies at the School of Law, University of Wollongong (UOW). His interdisciplinary research sits at the intersection of law, technology, science and philosophy. His publications and talks focus on the social, ethical and legal impact of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), brain-computer interface, neuroscience and genetics. In 2024, Armin further expanded his scholarly reach by participating in OpenAI projects as a consultant. His commitment to the responsible use of AI is demonstrated through his participation in the UOW AI Expert Group, which advises the University on AI policies, ensuring alignment with the latest research and ethical standards. Before joining UOW, Armin worked with colleagues at the Faculty of Transdisciplinary Innovation (UTS) developing ethics and AI teaching material for policy sector delivery (funded by DFAT). He has also worked with the Australian Neurolaw Database Project (neurolaw.edu.au), archiving and analysing Australian court cases involving neuroscience. One of Armin's side hustles is translating academic findings into plain English, and he has appeared as a law and technology expert on ABC Radio, 9NEWS, WIN TV, and The New Daily. In 2021, Armin received the Faculty of Business and Law Award for Outstanding Contribution to Teaching and Learning (OCTAL). He was subsequently inducted as a Fellow into the Wollongong Academy for Tertiary Teaching & Learning Excellence (WATTLE).
Dr Emma A. Jane (formerly Emma Tom) is an Associate Professor in the School of the Arts & Media at UNSW Sydney.
Blockchain, cognitive enhancement, online misogyny, cyberbullying, cybercrime, digilantism, and digital mobs are the foci of her ongoing research into the social and ethical implications of emerging technologies. She also researches and publishes on transgender-related issues, as well as on issues relating to gender more generally. Emma's work is interdisciplinary, informed by the fields of philosophy, cultural and media studies, internet studies, feminist and gender theory, discourse analysis, sociology, literary theory, and social psychology. Prior to her career in academia, Emma spent nearly 25 years working in the print, broadcast, and electronic media during which time she won multiple awards for her writing and investigative reporting.
In 2016, the public benefit of Emma's research into misogyny online was recognised when she was named the Anne Dunn Scholar of the Year. This followed her receipt, in 2014, of a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) from the Australian government to fund a three-year research project into gendered cyberhate and digital citizenship. Most recently (in April 2017) she received the UNSW Arts and Social Sciences Dean’s Award for Achievements by an Early Career Researcher.
Emma has published nine books including a novel, Deadset, which in 1997 won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Asia and the South Pacific for Best First Novel. Her most recent publication, Misogyny Online: A Short (and Brutish) History, was published by SAGE in 2017. In a review of Misogyny Online in the journal Information, Communication & Society (2017), social theorist Frances Shaw calls Jane "one of the most authoritative researchers on gendered digital harassment and its impacts". She writes that Jane's work is generating "a great deal of impact internationally and in policy and regulatory settings", and she applauds Misogyny Online for its "winning combination of conceptually and philosophically rich analysis, forensic and details-oriented storytelling, and heartfelt investment in and passion for the subject matter". Describing the book as "fascinating", "poignant", "reflexive", "entertaining", "impactful", "affecting", "precise", "focussed", "extensive, thorough and rigorous", written with "ferocious intensity", and "essential reading for those working in the field", Shaw also highlights its "powerful narrative" about how misogyny online silences and coerces women out of political participation. She concludes that Misogyny Online "should impel others to act to change their approaches to response, prosecution and governance, and to change the culture that creates the conditions for gendered harassment to occur and to be accepted".
Emma has presented the findings of her research to the Australian Human Rights Commission, and regularly speaks at large, public events such as the Festival of Dangerous Ideas and the All About Women festivals at the Sydney Opera House.
During her previous career as a journalist, she received the 1997 Henry Lawson Award for Journalism, and the 2001 Edna Ryan Humour Award for “using wit to promote women’s interests”.
