Investigating computing science students' and educators' initial perceptions of ChatGPT in higher education

The rise of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), particularly Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (ChatGPT), highlights the pressing need to understand its impact within academia. This thesis investigates ChatGPT's role in post-secondary education, focusing on its usage, benefits and drawbacks as perceived by students and faculty. We present findings from two studies at a Canadian university: 1) A focus group with 40 computer science and engineering individuals discussed plagiarism and assessment concerns, advocated for ChatGPT usage guidelines, classroom assessments, and its mandatory disclosure. 2) An online survey with 39 participants assessed ChatGPT's educational implications. The chatbot is perceived as a valuable learning tool, providing access to additional resources and time savings. However, inaccuracies, academic dishonesty, and ethical issues such as bias and privacy emerged. These studies contribute to the understanding of GenAI's role in academia and provide insights for educators on the potential opportunities and challenges of using ChatGPT in academic settings.