Conference Program

The introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) into schools represents one of the most significant transformations in contemporary education, with profound effects on teaching, learning, and assessment processes. AI does not simply provide new teaching tools; it also helps redefine the organization of knowledge, educational practices, and the very role of those involved, within a broader framework of the digitalization of society and education. Intelligent tutoring systems, educational data analytics, and generative applications promise to support the personalization of learning paths and improve inclusion, in line with a conception of education as an active and democratic experience (Dewey, 1916). From this perspective, schools can become spaces for pedagogical experimentation where intelligent technologies support, rather than replace, teaching mediation processes and the educational relationship.

However, the introduction of AI into schools also raises critical ethical, social, and political questions. The use of data-driven systems entails risks related to privacy protection, surveillance, and student profiling, as well as the potential reproduction or amplification of inequalities through algorithmic biases (Zuboff, 2019). Furthermore, with automation, some cognitive and evaluative functions can reduce the complexity of learning to mere measurable indicators, weakening the critical and reflective dimension of education. Within this framework, it becomes crucial to recover a pedagogy oriented toward emancipation and awareness, capable of training individuals who are not simply users of technologies, but citizens capable of critically questioning the devices that structure the educational experience (Freire, 1970).

Major international organizations have emphasized the need to develop and use AI in a "trustworthy" manner, based on principles of equity, transparency, accountability, and respect for fundamental rights (OECD, 2019; UNESCO, 2021). The European regulatory framework, with the adoption of the Artificial Intelligence Act, also proposes a risk-based approach that has direct implications for education systems, particularly regarding the use of applications with a high impact on student rights and automated decision-making processes (European Union, 2024). These references indicate that the issue of AI in schools cannot be addressed solely in terms of educational innovation but requires educational governance that is attentive to the ethical and democratic dimensions of technology.

The paper therefore proposes considering AI in schools as a lever for renewed digital citizenship, in which education in technology is intertwined with education in democracy. From this perspective, schools are called to become laboratories of critical skills, capable of integrating digital literacy, ethical reflection, and informed participation in social life. Training students and teachers to critically use AI means not only improving the effectiveness of educational processes but also contributing to the construction of a democratic culture capable of consciously governing ongoing technological transformations, preventing them from translating into new forms of inequality or cognitive dependence.