Abstract:

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly pervasive in everyday life, profoundly transforming how individuals acquire knowledge, communicate, and make decisions. This development does not simply involve the introduction of new technologies into social and educational contexts; rather, it reflects a broader transformation in the very structure of human experience. Within an environment characterized by algorithmic systems that select information, anticipate preferences, and mediate access to reality, the relationship between subject, knowledge, and world is progressively being reconfigured.

This contribution is situated within the pedagogical debate on the impact of artificial intelligence on educational processes. It proposes a theoretical reflection on the formative implications of the so-called onlife condition, a concept to describe a context in which the online and offline dimensions are no longer separable but instead co-constitute everyday experience. In this scenario, AI cannot be interpreted merely as a technological tool, but rather as a structural form of mediation of experience, capable of influencing modes of thinking, decision-making processes, and the emotional dynamics of individuals.

The theoretical framework of this contribution is organized around three key concepts present in contemporary literature: algorithmic mediation, onlife condition, and delegation of cognition. Considered together, these three processes outline a transformation that concerns not only modes of learning but the very formation of subjectivity. Continuous exposure to algorithmically mediated environments tends, in fact, to reduce cognitive friction by anticipating responses and simplifying choices, with the risk of fostering forms of cognitive dependency and diminishing the space for reflective thought.

Based on these premises, the contribution proposes interpreting emotional intelligence as a fundamental dimension for sustaining subjectivity in the age of artificial intelligence. Affective neuroscience has shown how emotion and rationality are deeply intertwined in decision-making processes; however, digital environments characterized by acceleration, emotional overstimulation, and immediate feedback may undermine individuals’ capacities to recognize and regulate their emotions.
The paper suggests the need to integrate emotional education with a broader reflection on "value intelligence” understood as the capacity to orient choices according to criteria of meaning and responsibility rather than based on immediate gratification or algorithmic suggestions.

Finally, the contribution proposes interpreting Media Education (ME) as a central pedagogical node for addressing the ongoing transformations. Educating about media does not simply mean developing technical skills; it also entails forming subjects capable of understanding the logics of algorithmic mediation, recognizing the emotional dynamics activated by digital environments, and guiding their own choices in an autonomous and responsible way.

In this sense, pedagogy today is called upon to confront a crucial challenge: not to oppose emerging technologies, but to develop educational practices capable of safeguarding the complexity of human experience, preserving the space for critical thinking, emotional awareness, and value-based responsibility in the age of artificial intelligence.

Keywords:

Artificial Intelligence, Algorithmic Mediation, Onlife Condition, Emotional Intelligence, Media Education.