An Australian university has swapped in-person classes with an AI chatbot, online quizzes and optional online tutorials in two subjects as institutions give the technology more teaching responsibilities. Macquarie University’s “Virtual Peer” is part of each week’s learning in two mandatory Psychology units, programmed to ask students questions and guide them through scenario-based exercises. The university said the AI activities are optional and only “supplement” the “core learning” of online readings, quizzes and videos.
However, neither the core nor AI activities are mandatory. Students are only assessed on separate research tasks and exams. Both subjects had in-person classes in the first semester of this year.
The university said in-person classes would return in 2027 in alternate semesters so students could pick the format that suits their circumstances. One student, who asked to remain anonymous, said they felt “short-changed” after issues with their degree structure forced them to enrol in the online option. Each individual psychology subject costs $2,174 for Australian students with commonwealth supported places in 2026.
A three-year undergraduate degree now costs over $50,000. Professors who use Virtual Peer upload the information it uses and check it, the university says, making it more tailored than general-purpose AI tools. Experts say that could make the tool potentially less prone to “hallucination”, or inventing content without evidence.
Macquarie can also monitor student conversations on the service, according to the university. The subjects still have paid tutors, who run optional Zoom sessions each week. One introductory-level subject has six sessions a week for its 400 students, while the other final-year subject has 10 sessions a week for its 700 students – or roughly one class for every 70 students.
Students who want to speak to a human for feedback are encouraged to attend. Macquarie said attendance at these was variable and rose around assessment due dates. Virtual Peer was also used for learning activities in other subjects but was not available in all classes, Macquarie said.
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