Per una teoria normativa dell'educazione nell'epoca dell'Intelligenza Artificiale

The implementation of AI in the educational context is transforming both teaching and learning. In the relevant literature, this transformation is generally viewed positively. In this paper, we firstly argue that these analyses are guided by a normative conception of education that John Dewey defines as «traditional», which aims solely at the student’s material success. AI, in this sense, by promoting effectiveness, efficiency, and performance in education, would substantiate this ideal assumption. Secondly, and in contrast to this perspective, we propose Axel Honneth’s theoretical framework to refocus the analysis on the figure of the child. Based on the premise of an essential interconnection between democracy and education, the development of the student’s subjectivity, and thus the moral qualities of a future citizen, constitutes the normative goal of education. This approach creates opportunities to reconsider AI’s role in education, shifting the focus from quantitative improvement of technical performance to enhancing the child’s moral development.