Higher education in the era of artificial intelligence: vectors of change

This article is devoted to the analysis of transformational processes in higher education driven by the active integration of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Drawing on current statistical data and case studies from leading universities, the authors examine the shift from the situational use of AI toward the emergence of a new educational paradigm, captured by the metaphor of the “digital centaur,” that is, a symbiotic union of human agency and algorithmic intelligence. The study sys-tematizes existing institutional approaches to human–AI interaction within universities and identi-fies the principal ethical challenges associated with this transition, including cognitive dependency, plagiarism, and the digital divide. The paper offers a detailed analysis of the major directions of deep transformation: adaptive learning and personalization; the evolution of the role of the instruc-tor from transmitter of knowledge to architect of learning; the transformation of the student from passive recipient to co-creator; and the reconceptualization of knowledge assessment toward pro-cess-oriented and AI-resilient formats. Particular attention is paid to the changing nature of academ-ic research, in which AI increasingly functions as a cognitive partner, as well as to the role of univer-sities in preparing specialists for the AI industry. The conclusion presents a forecast for the devel-opment of higher education over the next 10–15 years, according to which universities capable of establishing an effective symbiosis with AI will be transformed from “temples of knowledge” into human-centered ecosystems for the cultivation of distinctive competencies.