ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE HIGHER EDUCATION CLASSROOM: FOUNDATIONS, PEDAGOGICAL IMPACTS, CHALLENGES, AND PERSPECTIVES

The contemporary higher education is undergoing a transformation process, driven by the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which has been consolidating as a strategic tool for modernizing pedagogical practices. This article analyzes the theoretical foundations, pedagogical impacts, challenges, and future perspectives of AI applied to higher education. It identifies that technology enables personalized learning, real-time formative assessment, expanded inclusion and accessibility, and optimization of teaching time. However, its adoption faces challenges related to ethics, privacy, digital inequality, cultural resistance, and algorithmic bias. The future perspectives point to hybrid, immersive, and collaborative educational ecosystems, in which AI could act as an ethical and transparent mediator, strengthening competency-based learning. The methodology used to conduct this research is a literature review. The recommendations include the formulation of clear institutional policies, ongoing teacher training, partnerships with research centers and companies, as well as constant monitoring of pedagogical and social impacts. It is concluded that AI should not replace the human dimension of teaching but complement it, in order to promote a more inclusive, critical, and transformative higher education.