AI-Empowered Governance of University Data: Value Dimensions, Risk Challenges and Governance Responses
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to explore a sustainable paradigm for data governance in universities empowered by artificial intelligence (AI), creating a collaborative governance system that integrates technological, institutional, organizational, and ethical dimensions to combine intelligence, resilience, and humanistic care. This study adopts an inductive–deductive qualitative content analysis to propose an integrative “Value–Risk–Pathway” analytical framework. The study first identifies the sustainable benefits of AI in university data governance. These benefits include enhanced data integration, improved decision support, and increased governance effectiveness. It then examines the potential risks associated with employing AI. These risks include foundational, normative, structural, and ethical aspects. The study proposes a theoretical transmission pathway through which these risks may influence and amplify each other within the context of universities. To address these risks, a collaborative governance system is proposed. This system integrates technological governance, institutional adjustments, organizational collaboration, and ethical regulations. This research contributes to existing knowledge in several ways: (1) It moves beyond the existing focus on technical efficiency or isolated risks, presenting an integrated analytical perspective that balances value and risk as co-constitutive phenomena. (2) It reveals the dynamic transmission and reinforcement mechanisms among multidimensional risks. (3) The proposed “Four-in-One” collaborative governance system offers a sustainable governance paradigm for data management in higher education in the digital age. Additionally, at the practical level, the “Four-in-One” collaborative governance system provides a theoretical basis for university administrators to develop AI application policies that align with the essence of education. It also offers targeted guidance for addressing risks at different levels, facilitating effective proactive governance.