Artificial Intelligence in Education: Big Data, Black Boxes, and Technological Solutionism

Abstract

The use of digital technology is constantly permeating and transforming all social systems, and education is not an exception. In the last decade, the development of Artificial Intelligence has given a new push to the hope of providing educational systems with ‘effective’ and more personalized solutions for teaching and learning. Educators, educational researchers, and policymakers, in general, lack the knowledge and expertise to understand the underlying logic of these new systems, and there is insufficient research based evidence to fully understand the consequences for learners’ development of both the extensive use of screens and the increasing reliance on algorithms in educational settings. This article, geared towards educators, academics in the field of Education, and policymakers, first introduces the concepts of ‘Big Data’, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning algorithms and how they are presented and deployed as ‘black boxes’, and the possible impact on education these new software solutions can have. Then, it focuses on the underlying educational discourses that historically have seen information and communication technologies as a panacea for solving educational problems, pointing out the need to analyse not only their advantages, but also their possible negative effects. It finishes with a short exploration of possible future scenarios and conclusions.