The Double-Edged Tool: Student Perspectives on the Ethical Use, Skill Impact, and Pedagogical Adaptation of Generative AI in Higher Education

Gen AI’s rapid assimilation into higher education calls for critical consideration of its ethical, pedagogical, and competency-shaping effects. This study explores the essential dimensions of college students’ learning experiences and the broader implications of AI-supported learning environments. This qualitative-phenomenological inquiry used a survey/interview protocol in Google Forms to collect detailed, self-reported information from Filipino college students representing multiple higher education institutions across the Philippines. Systematic thematic analysis was used to identify patterns, themes, and categories in students’ responses regarding practical applications, detrimental effects, and recommendations for pedagogical change. Students see GenAI as a double-edged tool that helps with ideation, summarizing complex topics, and becoming more efficient when writing. Yet it posed a significant problem regarding academic dishonesty and the resultant loss of specific basic competencies, such as analysis, logical reasoning, and independent effort. And they reported taking measures to mitigate risk, such as conducting extensive fact-checking and regulating their own activities—even as many students said clearer standards for disclosing sources were needed. This study posited that such duality of GenAI requires an institutional response in kind. It is suggested that the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and faculty move “beyond a blanket ban approach, toward an integration of use” strategy. Specific recommendations include co-creating clear ethical guidelines; rethinking tasks to become “AI-resilient” by focusing more on process-based assessment, such as reflection, collaboration, and application in the real world; and shifting instructors’ roles to facilitators of deep, process-focused learning.