Multigroup Analysis of the Acceptance and Use of Generative AI Among University Educators

The acceptance and use of generative artificial intelligence continues to draw interest and controversy in higher education, as stakeholders deliberate policies on its adoption. While there are arguments for enhancing productivity using generative AI in some quarters, others have expressed major concerns regarding authenticity and originality. At the same time, little is known about individual attitudes towards the incorporation of generative AI in higher education. This is pertinent, as individual attitudes are likely to strongly determine the prospective and/or actual adoption of generative AI. To address this impasse, this inquiry espouses the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology vis-à-vis the intention to use generative AI in academic work among University Educators. For granular insights, multi-group analyses of various demographics, tenure, discipline and home vs. branch campuses are undertaken, and the path co-efficients show significant variance in the correlations. The results have telling implications for higher education policy and practice.