Artificial Intelligence and the PhD: Navigating Doctoralness in the Digital Age

Abstract

The doctorate has long been regarded as the pinnacle of higher educational attainment, demanding originality, critical inquiry, and the capacity to generate new knowledge—qualities collectively referred to as doctoralness. In the early twenty-first century, doctoral education is undergoing transformation due to the increasing prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in research design, data analysis, academic writing, and supervisory practices. This chapter examines the intersection of AI with the nature and practice of doctoralness. We begin by clarifying the historical and conceptual foundations of doctoralness as an intellectual and identity-forming endeavour that extends beyond mere technical research skills. Subsequently, we explore the evolving landscape of the PhD as candidates, supervisors, and institutions adopt AI-enabled tools for literature synthesis, multilingual writing support, modelling, and personalised feedback. While these tools promise efficiency, inclusivity, and new modes of collaboration, they also pose risks—such as over-reliance, erosion of critical judgment, breaches of academic integrity, and the widening of inequities between well-resourced and under-resourced contexts. Drawing on global literature and examples from South Africa and the Global South, this chapter discusses strategies for safeguarding doctoralness through supervisor professional development, institutional AI literacy frameworks, and policies grounded in ethical and epistemic justice. We argue that the responsible integration of AI can enrich rather than diminish doctoral education when guided by human criticality and robust scholarly norms. The chapter concludes with recommendations for future directions in AI-infused doctoral training within a digitally mediated knowledge society.