The Faculty Paradox: Assessing Digital Fatigue and Institutional Readiness for AI Integration in Higher Education
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Abstract
The rapid diffusion of AI tools into Indian higher education institutions (HEIs) has been faster than the faculty members' psychological and institutional capability to cope with them. This paper addresses the 'faculty paradox', which is the challenge of teaching faculty facing increasing digital fatigue and technostress as well as institutional pressure to adopt AI and studies the relationship between these factors and faculty AI adoption intention and behaviour. A cross-sectional, positivist survey design was adopted. A structured questionnaire based on adapted items from the Zoom Exhaustion & Fatigue Scale, Techno-Stress Construct for Higher Education and Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) institutional readiness scale was filled out to faculty in central, state, private and deemed-to-be universities in India. The analysis include confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the measurement model and structural path estimate. Digital fatigue and technostress had a major negative impact on institutional readiness and AI adoption intentions, while institutional readiness positively predicted adoption intention, which in turn led to actual AI integration behaviour. Institutional readiness partially mediated the fatigue-adoption relationship and perceived organizational support calmed down the negative impact of digital fatigue on readiness. This paper is the first to incorporate digital fatigue and technostress theory into the TOE framework in one SEM model of Indian faculty AI adoption, giving evidence-based levers, workload redesign, tiered digital training and organizational support and policy interventions to HEI leaders and policy makers to implement India's National Education Policy 2020 and National AI strategy
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