Armin Alimardani, a senior lecturer in law and technology at Western Sydney University, is currently attending workshops in Palermo, Italy. He describes himself as a tech enthusiast and has warned that the growing use of generative artificial intelligence to grade student work could threaten the core mission of higher education. Alimardani says the conversation about AI-assisted grading is "extremely concerning" and could lead to institutional collapse if not managed carefully.
Western Sydney University is among a group of Australian campuses that have granted staff limited permission to employ AI tools for assessment feedback. Similar allowances exist at the University of Newcastle, Deakin University, RMIT and the University of Adelaide. In these cases the approval is qualified: Newcastle lets students opt out, while Deakin permits AI to aid efficiency but bars it from assigning final grades.
A spokesperson for Western Sydney University emphasized a "human-centred approach" to generative AI in assessment, stating that the allocation of marks, grades and feedback must remain the responsibility of academic staff. The university clarified that AI may support certain aspects of assessment, but ultimate academic judgment cannot be delegated to algorithms.
Alimardani acknowledges that AI could act as a "second pair of eyes" by highlighting inconsistencies in human grading, and he is developing models to detect such issues. However, he stresses that the claimed benefits are largely untested and that scaling AI assistance without rigorous oversight could invite disaster. He warns of "verification drift" where overworked staff may become lax after initial AI outputs appear satisfactory, allowing hallucinations to slip through.
Critics argue that the practice could create a "slop-cycle" in which students submit AI-generated essays that are then evaluated by AI, eroding academic standards. Some of the country's most prestigious universities, including the University of New South Wales, the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney, have drawn a line at using generative AI for marking, even while embracing it for other classroom activities.
Other institutions have issued cautious statements. Monash University said AI is not currently used in marking but is being integrated into teaching to support learning. The University of Queensland reiterated that academics must verify that learning outcomes are met and grades reflect student attainment. Queensland University of Technology announced an "assessment uplift project" aimed at keeping assessment authentic in an AI-enabled environment, prompting some staff to joke that AI might be drafting the notice itself. Concerns among faculty include environmental impact, ethical implications and the potential loss of marking work that many sessional academics rely on for income.