Disrupting Professional Academic Identities? the Effect of AI Technologies on South African Academics

This paper investigates the evolving professional identities of South African academics in light of emerging AI technologies, particularly those utilising Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning. It tackles two key questions:

Firstly, how do South African academics construct their professional academic identities? This includes their understanding of their roles, the demands of the organisations as well as the key values and experiences that shape their academic identities, and how they understand the signifiers of professionalism within their fields. Additionally, it examines how race/gender/age/language contribute to their academic identity?

Secondly, the paper investigates whether South African academics perceive, or have experienced, new AI technologies as disruptive of their academic identities. If so, it seeks to understand the nature of this disruption and how they understand its effect on their professional identities.

To explore these questions, this study uses a qualitative methodology based on in-depth-interviews with twenty academics across various disciplines and of different ages, genders and racial/ethnic backgrounds. By examining their experiences and views, the paper aims to provide insights into the intersection of AI technology and academic professional identity in South Africa.