Faculty perceptions of generative AI in Azerbaijani higher education

The fast adoption of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) in higher education has led to the realization of the necessity to study the responses of educators as a professional group, although there is limited empirical research, especially in a new educational setting such as Azerbaijan. This pilot study is a quantitative investigation of the attitudes of Azerbaijani university teachers related to GAI, their adaptations in pedagogy, and the perceived difficulties and support requirements. The information was gathered through an online poll (n=30) in a university with a high level of research. Findings indicate that teachers are aware of the opportunities of GAI to personalize learning and administrative efficiency yet were rated moderately on AI literacy (Mean=3.42) and willingness to apply (Mean=3.21). Some of the key issues were academic integrity, the validity of assessment, and AI-assisted plagiarism. The exploratory analysis revealed that there was a good positive correlation between AI literacy and the perceived usefulness (r=0.759), where active adopters redesigned assessments and adopted process-oriented approaches. However, the conceptualization of institutional support was perceived to be inconsistent (Mean=3.04, SD=1.1). The results show that successful GAI implementation must involve contextualized professional growth and straightforward institutional policies that can resolve ethical and pedagogical issues. Although constrained by sample size, this research has given the first signs of the importance of educator-based support to facilitate responsible AI integration into the modernization of higher education.