{
  "id": 16967794,
  "title": "Grades matter less than motivation in AI era, HKU vice-president says",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/grades-matter-less-than-motivation-in-ai-era-hku-vice-president-says-16967794",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-28T22:22:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/education/20261029/grades-matter-less-than-motivation-in-ai-era-hku-vice-president-says"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Hong Kong — University of Hong Kong (HKU) vice president Jay S. Siegel asserts that artificial intelligence (AI) is not fundamentally altering the essence of higher education. During an interview with The Korea Times, Siegel contends that despite the advent of AI, universities continue to prioritize the cultivation of independent thinkers. Instead of focusing on the changing landscape of content delivery, Siegel emphasizes the need for higher education institutions to strike a balance and not overemphasize grades and examinations. He argues that the importance of motivation in fostering a lifelong love for learning surpasses the significance of assessment results. Siegel maintains that examinations serve a crucial purpose in motivating students to study, as the process of preparing for a test encourages them to delve into the material, read, think, and engage with it. Siegel suggests that the effort students put into studying may hold greater value than the final grade they receive.",
  "summary": "HONG KONG — When asked how artificial intelligence (AI) is changing higher education, Jay S. Siegel, vice president of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), began by challenging the premise of the question. “I don’t think that higher education is moving beyond content delivery and into critical thinking,” he said during an interview with The Korea Times on the university’s campus. Siegel, who also…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}