Since the spring of 2023, after a reflexive move to drastically restrict the use of artificial intelligence tools in the months after ChatGPT became available, most academic disciplines have moved to a more permissive attitude toward the use of large language models (LLMs). This occurred as professors learnt to distinguish how AI tools impact student learning and skills development. The shift is charted by Dr Igor Chirikov, a senior researcher at the University of California (UC), Berkeley’s Center for Studies in Higher Education and director of the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) Consortium, in a study published on 3 February 2026 and titled “How Instructors Regulate AI in College: Evidence from 31,000 course syllabi”.
