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Laws of Edu-Automation? Three Different Approaches to Deal with Processes of Automation and Artificial Intelligence in the Field of Education

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Abstract

This contribution reports on a symposium that aimed to collectively discuss different approaches to deal with processes of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) in the field of education. Inspired by Asimov’s Laws of Robotics and Pasquale's recently published New Laws of Robotics, the symposium’s purpose was to collectively advance laws that would be specifically tailored to the field of education. In that regard, the term edu-automation seeks to propose ways of conceptualizing and imagining automation as an educational endeavor; that is, not as a purely technical-factual matter that is subsequently translated into educational practice, but equally as a matter of educational concern. Through three narratives and propositions, this contribution discusses similarities and differences between the concepts of automation and AI, and shows some of the different features that tie education and automation together. The variety and substantial differences between the three accounts shows that automation and AI cannot be approached single-sidedly, and that in order to come to a profound understanding of this phenomenon, we need to deploy a variety of theoretical, educational, and normative standpoints and positions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Mathias Decuypere, Samira Alirezabeigi, Jan Masschelein, Maarten Simons & Lanze Vanermen

  2. University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy

    Emiliano Grimaldi

  3. Helmut Schmidt University Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Sigrid Hartong

  4. Götheborg University, Götheborg, Sweden

    Svea Kiesewetter

  5. CNR-IRPPS, Salerno, Italy

    Paolo Landri

  6. Tampere University, Tampere, Finland

    Nelli Piattoeva

  7. Danish School of Education, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Helene Ratner

  8. Columbia University, New York, USA

    Pieter Vanden Broeck

Authors
  1. Mathias Decuypere
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  2. Samira Alirezabeigi
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  3. Emiliano Grimaldi
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  4. Sigrid Hartong
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  5. Svea Kiesewetter
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  6. Paolo Landri
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  7. Jan Masschelein
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  10. Maarten Simons
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  11. Lanze Vanermen
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  12. Pieter Vanden Broeck
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Correspondence to Mathias Decuypere.

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Decuypere, M., Alirezabeigi, S., Grimaldi, E. et al. Laws of Edu-Automation? Three Different Approaches to Deal with Processes of Automation and Artificial Intelligence in the Field of Education. Postdigit Sci Educ 5, 44–55 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-022-00360-x

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