Use of Artificial Intelligence to Grade Student Discussion Boards: An Exploratory Study

There appears to be an increasing acceptance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across society. As people become more comfortable with AI's use in advertising, basic services and other areas of day-to-day life, the question arises will students also be willing to accept AI in learning situations. Furthermore, what are the impacts on both the student learning and acceptance as well as the effect on the instructor or professor. This paper presents the initial findings of the use of AI in grading students' discussion boards. It presents an initial model of student expectations, discusses potential benefits and drawbacks of AI and presents initial findings from a limited number of classes using AI grading.