Why not replace people with machines? Exploring Artificial Intelligence’s (in)capacity for education as subjectification

Abstract

The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has prompted many professional fields to replace their human workers with AI systems. In the field of education, however, people generally do recognize the many limitations of AI in comparison to human educators. Much of the discussion on AI limitations, however, centres around the more technical and functional shortcomings of the current technology, which could, at least theoretically, be resolved by further technological advancements. The purpose of this article, however, is to point out the fundamental limitations of AI in education so that such a technology could be used more appropriately and responsibly. Building on the conceptualization of education as (at least partly) subjectification through intersubjectivity, which demands both parties involved to be and be treated as subjects, this article argues that there is at least one aspect in which AI (in its current form) could never replace humans as educators: its lack of subject-ness. In other words, until AI can transcend its current status as mere machine or tool, it could never replace human educators in the latter’s capacity to provide the students with the requisite intersubjective experience of a well-rounded education.