Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a transformative force in academia, impacting teaching and learning, research, grading, and administration. It offers the education sector unprecedented opportunities to improve educational quality and efficiency. Simultaneously, it raises significant concerns about legal, ethical, and academic integrity.
The European Union (EU) is taking a comprehensive approach to regulating AI, acknowledging both its potential and challenges, while seeking to ensure its development is trustworthy, transparent, and respectful of fundamental rights.

The AI Act is the cornerstone of the EU’s approach to AI governance and the world’s first comprehensive legal framework on artificial intelligence. The AI Act follows a ‘risk-based’ approach where AI systems are classified according to the level of risk they pose to individuals and society. The higher the level of risk, the more stringent the legal obligations placed on developers and users. Different systems are subject to different rules, with minimal-risk applications (spam filters, recommendation systems) having fewer rules, limited-risk systems (chatbots), and high-risk systems (e.g. in education, healthcare, employment, etc.) demanding rules on transparency, human control, documentation, risk assessment, and data quality. Additionally, there’s unacceptable risk (manipulative AI) when AI practices are considered incompatible with European values and undermine fundamental rights.

One of the most important sectors mentioned in the AI Act is education, given that decisions made at educational institutions have a long-lasting impact on students’ academic and professional careers. Many AI applications used in education fall within the high-risk category, and universities should ensure that human oversight stays at the heart of decisions, that AI systems be fair and accurate, and do not lead to discrimination or unintended unfair bias.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) also remains crucial. Educational institutions routinely process large volumes of personal data, including student records, examination information, academic performance data, and administrative documentation. When such data is processed by AI systems, institutions must ensure compliance with GDPR principles: lawfulness, fairness, transparency, purpose limitation, data minimization, accuracy, security, and accountability. Universities must prevent confidential or personal information from being released in publicly accessible AI systems that could harm students’ rights to privacy.

Kosovo, like other countries in the region, is still at an early stage in shaping its approach to artificial intelligence. The European Commission's 2025 Kosovo Report calls on Kosovo to fully align with the AI Act and establish the necessary enforcement structures. Kosovo’s Digital Agenda 2030 provides an initial basis for this process, including plans to develop a national AI strategy and create a legal and regulatory framework for AI, including in education.

Generative AI has revolutionised debates on academic honesty, beyond legal framework. AI can support learning by explaining complex concepts, generating practice questions, enhancing writing, summarising academic literature, assisting with coding and facilitating data analysis. However, papers and journal submissions being fully or partially AI-generated raise serious concerns about academic originality and integrity. Therefore, Universities and journals should set clear policies, provide training, strengthen data protection, and ensure human oversight. Boosting AI literacy is equally vital, encompassing an understanding of AI’s capabilities and limitations, ethical and legal implications, responsibilities, and dangers of misuse. Higher education institutions around Europe are crafting policies encouraging responsible use of AI, instead of blanket bans. In 2026, the University of Prishtina developed a guide for students based on the approach promoted by UNESCO, placing “humans at the centre”. In this respect, transparency is one of the key principles. Students should disclose if they have used AI tools where policy requires it, and educators should be explicit about acceptable usage of AI tools in a course or assessment. Despite technology types , such policies should be rooted in the longstanding guiding principles of honesty, responsibility, fairness, and accountability that are the basis of academic integrity.

While AI can make learning more accessible and efficient, excessive reliance on it may weaken critical thinking, analytical skills, and independent learning. For this reason, AI should be used as a tool to support learning rather than as a substitute for students' own work. The real challenge is not whether students will use AI, but whether they will learn to use it ethically, critically and responsibly. This is the most effective way to uphold academic integrity while fully realising the educational opportunities that AI can offer.

Dr. Dren Gërguri, Assistant Professor, Department of Journalism, University of Prishtina
Fatjona Rudi, Student, Department of Journalism, University of Prishtina