Despite Skepticism, Widespread AI Use at Cal State
Despite Skepticism, Widespread AI Use at Cal State
Publish Date: 2026-04-02 03:02:00
Source Domain: www.insidehighered.com
More than a year after the California State University system invested millions in a plan to grow the state’s artificial intelligence–ready workforce, new data shows that the majority of students, faculty and staff at the nation’s largest university system are using AI-powered tools—despite some reluctance and skepticism.
ChatGPT, which the entire CSU system has access to through a partnership with OpenAI, is by far the most popular tool.
On Wednesday, the CSU system—which has 460,000 students and 63,000 faculty and staff across 23 campuses—published a report detailing those and other findings from a fall 2025 survey of 94,060 respondents—including 80,626 students, 6,085 faculty and 7,349 staff—about how they’re using AI.
According to the survey, the vast majority of respondents (95 percent) have used at least one of the 21 AI tools listed in the survey. Additionally, 64 percent of staff, 59 percent of faculty and 53 percent of students report using it on a consistent, ongoing basis—including many who also report using AI tools outside of work.
“This survey captures a moment of transition in higher education, where both students and faculty are actively assessing how AI fits into teaching and learning,” David Goldberg, an AI faculty fellow at San Diego State University and one of the lead researchers on the survey, said in a news release. “The data gives us a powerful foundation to better support faculty by tailoring training to real needs, bringing more consistency to AI use in the classroom, and ensuring that its use strengthens learning outcomes. It also offers a roadmap for institutions nationwide to better understand AI’s role and to implement it thoughtfully, consistently, and responsibly.”
Despite the results showing the CSU system’s embrace of AI, the data also suggests that faculty haven’t come to a consensus about its place in the classroom.
Just over a quarter of faculty respondents…
