The AI Poll

The Regents today will be discussing AI and its implications for UC. Included in their agenda is a summary of a survey of faculty about AI. No details about the survey itself - number responding and response rate, precise questions, etc. - are included.

2025 UC Systemwide Faculty AI Survey – Topline Summary

The University of California conducted its first systemwide Faculty AI Survey this spring (April 29-May 23, 2025), inviting faculty and academic appointees across all campuses to participate.

The goal of this inaugural survey was to collect timely information about AI awareness, adoption, opportunities, challenges, and training needs across UC’s academic enterprise.

Key Findings

Faculty Perspectives and Usage

• Nearly 70% of faculty respondents to the survey indicated that they agree or strongly agree with the statement “AI-powered tools and technologies will play a critical role in the future of my field.”

• A majority of faculty indicated that they are using, or intend to use, AI tools for research methods, data analysis, and teaching and student engagement.

Most common current and anticipated future AI uses identified by UC faculty include: literature review; coding and thematic analysis of qualitative data; manuscript writing; grant writing and proposal development; data analysis, interpretation, and visualization; research design and methodology development; and data cleaning and pre-processing.

Benefits Identified by Faculty

• Enhancing data analysis and research efficiency

• Automating routine academic and administrative tasks

• Preparing students for an AI-integrated workforce

Select Challenges

• AI-generated errors and misinformation

• Impact on student learning, critical thinking, and originality

• Difficulty detecting AI-generated contents

• Concerns about data privacy, bias and equity, intellectual property

Training Needs

Faculty respondents expressed the greatest interest in trainings on:

• AI for research methods and data analysis (60% of respondents)

• AI for teaching and student engagement (55%)

• Ethical AI use / Environmental and ethical concerns (42%)

• Hands-on technical training and policy/regulatory issues (35–40%)

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Source: https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/sept25/b3attach.pdf.