Abstract:

New virtual contexts, augmented reality and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are radically reshaping educational settings, as well as personal, family and social spheres. For the younger generations, intelligent virtual worlds offer immersive, interactive and creative experiences, which profoundly impact their lives and personalities. AI stands as a truly transformative force, modifying the way individuals think, learn, acquire information, work, be in the world and, most significantly, relate to others. We are facing a network ecosystem that brings with it unprecedented educational and relational possibilities, alongside new ethical issues and risks, both for young people and adults.

Concerning relational possibilities, generative AI can enhance human interactions, fostering communication and linguistic understanding, especially in multilingual contexts and interactions. There are chatbots capable of offering advices on conflict management or improving communication based on analyses of previous interactions. Moreover, virtual assistants can analyze conversation content, context and tone, providing support in understanding emotions and their nuances.

However, there are critical zones and risks that educators must carefully consider. Today, the danger of AI extends beyond its usage, as some processes no longer depend solely on human will, but on those programming intelligent machines and algorithms that might escape programmers’ control. No AI can replace the ‘Other’. The greatest ethical risk to personal and social growth lies in the possibility of individuals preferring relationships with intelligent machines over human beings. In about a decade, there are authors who hypothesize the concrete possibility that humans will be able to have pleasant intimate relationships, involving sex and even marriage, with robots that will become indistinguishable from human beings. Educators must reflect whether the excessive and exclusive use of AI-utilizing platforms is the cause, or rather an indicator, a warning sign of a deeper discomfort of young people and between adults and adolescents.

To understand new generation, retrotopical interpretative categories are insufficient; instead, adults –educators, parents, teachers– should learn and open themselves to listening to youths’ deeper needs, taking interest in their actual problems, paying attention to their likes and dislikes. This comprehension will aid adults in supporting adolescents in their journey of constructing meaning of the world and otherness, and forming identities in an ethical perspective.

References:
[1] Z. Bauman, Retrotopia. Roma-Bari: Laterza, 2017.
[2] D.L. Levy, Love and Sex with Robots. The Evolution of Human-Robot Relationships, New York: Harper Collins, 2007.
[3] C. Sirna, “L’emergenza come bisogno di relazione”, Studium Educationis, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 85-98, 2008.
[4] E. Levinas, Tra noi. Saggi sul pensare-all’altro. Milano: Jaca Book, 1998.
[5] M. Buber, Il principio dialogico e altri saggi, Cinisello Balsamo: San Paolo, 1991.
[6] R.G. Romano, La sete generativa. Ermeneutiche pedagogiche e percorsi formativi. Brescia: Scholè-Morcelliana, 2018.
[7] S. Turkle, Insieme ma soli. Perché ci aspettiamo sempre più dalla tecnologia e sempre meno dagli altri, Torino: Einaudi, 2019 (new edition).

Keywords:

Artificial intelligence, Relationship, Ethic, Education.