ERIC Number: EJ1359237
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2156-7069
EISSN: EISSN-2156-7077
Available Date: N/A
Augmented Sociomateriality: Implications of Artificial Intelligence for the Field of Learning Technology
Johri, Aditya
Research in Learning Technology, v30 2022
There has been a conscious effort in the past decade to produce a more theoretical account of the use of technology for learning. At the same time, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are being rapidly incorporated into learning technologies, significantly changing their affordances for teaching and learning. In this article I address the question of whether introduction of AI and associated features such as machine learning is a novel development from a theoretical perspective, and if so, how? I draw on the existing perspective of sociomateriality for learning and argue that the use of AI is indeed different because AI transforms sociomateriality by allowing materiality to take on characteristics previously associated primarily with a human agent, thereby shifting the nature of the sociomaterial assemblage. In this "data and algorithm"-driven AI-based sociomateriality, affordances for "representation and agency" change, thereby modifying "representational and relational practices" that are essential for cognition. The dualities of data/algorithm, representational/ agentic augmentation, and relational/participatory practices act in tandem within this new sociomaterial assemblage. If left unchecked, this new assemblage is prone to perpetuate the biases programmed within the technology itself. Therefore, it is important to take ethical and moral implications of using AI-driven learning technologies into account before their use.
Descriptors: Artificial Intelligence, Educational Technology, Technology Uses in Education, Affordances, Algorithms, Bias, Programming
Association for Learning Technology. Gipsy Lane, Headington, Oxford OX3 0BO, UK. e-mail: enquiries@alt.ac.uk; Web site: https://journal.alt.ac.uk
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF); National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) (USDA)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1937950; 1939105; 20216702135329
Author Affiliations: N/A