Educational ideals affect AI acceptance in learning environments

Abstract

AI is increasingly used in learning environments to monitor, test, and educate students and allow them to take more individualized learning paths. The success of AI in education will, however, require the acceptance of this technology by university management, faculty, and students. This acceptance will depend on the added value that stakeholders ascribe to this technology. In two empirical studies, we investigate the hitherto neglected question of which impact educational ideals have on the acceptance of AI in learning environments. We find clear evidence for our study participants’ conviction that humanistic educational ideals are considered less suitable for implementing AI in education than compentence-based ideals. This implies that research on the influence of teaching and learning philosophies could be an enlightening component of a comprehensive research program on human-AI interaction in educational contexts.