Speculative Futures on ChatGPT and Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) - A Collective Reflection from the Educational Landscape

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aran

While ChatGPT has recently gained major popularity, AI has a long history shaped by philosophy and evolving technologies. This paper explores promises and pitfalls of Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) systems and potentially future technologies using a speculative methodology centered on educational contexts. Emerging themes are used to analyze implications for education in the 21st century, including affordances of AI in Education (AIEd) and possible adverse effects. The discussion argues for redefining human vs AI contributions and roles with a future-oriented mindset.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages78

Reading Time3 h 17 min

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Introduction: Origins

Speculative Futures on ChatGPT and Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI): A Collective Reflection from the Educational Landscape Aras Bozkurt, Junhong Xiao, Sarah Lambert, Angelica Pazurek, Helen Crompton, Suzan Koseoglu, Robert Farrow, Melissa Bond, Chrissi Nerantzi, Sarah Honeychurch, Maha Bali, Jon Dron, Kamran Mir, Bonnie Stewart, Eamon Costello, Jon Mason, Christian M. Stracke, Enilda Romero-Hall, Apostolos Koutropoulos, Cathy Mae Toquero, Lenandlar Singh, Ahmed Tlili, Kyungmee Lee, Mark Nichols, Ebba Ossiannilsson, Mark Brown, Valerie Irvine, Juliana Elisa Raffaghelli, Gema Santos-Hermosa, Orna Farrell, Taskeen Adam, Ying Li Thong, Sunagul SaniBozkurt, Ramesh C. Sharma, Stefan Hrastinski, Petar Jandrić Abstract: While ChatGPT has recently become very popular, AI has a long history and philosophy. This paper intends to explore the promises and pitfalls of the Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) AI and potentially future technologies by adopting a speculative methodology. Speculative future narratives with a specific focus on educational contexts are provided in an attempt to identify emerging themesand discuss their implications for education in the 21st century. Affordances of (using) AI in Education (AIEd) and possible adverse effects are identified and discussed which emerge from the narratives. It is argued that now is the best of times to define human vs AI contribution to education because AI can accomplish more and more educational activities that used to be the prerogative of human educators. Therefore, it is imperative to rethink the respective roles of technology and human educators in education with a future-oriented mindset. Keywords: artificial intelligence (AI), generative pre-trained transformer (GPT), natural language processing, artificial intelligence in education (AIEd) , future educational perspectives, speculative methodology Highlights What is already known about this topic: • AI has a long history and philosophy. • AI has already been widely used in all dimensions of our lives including education. What this paper contributes: • A collection of speculative future narratives provides possible future AI scenarios and provokes readers to think critically about AI. • With a specific focus on education, this paper serves as an intellectual exercise on educational uses and limitations of conversational AI. Implications for theory, practice, and/or policy: • Innovative ways should be found to adopt AI/GPT technology into education in meaningful, ethical, and sustainable ways. • There is a need to develop new literacies for AI/GPT technologies. • Rather than blindly adopting AI/GPT technologies, educators need to develop a critical understanding of their pros and cons. • The leading role of human educators in education should not be downplayed and the supporting role of technology, no matter how advanced it is, should not be over-exaggerated. 01010101 01110011 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 01110010 00100000 01101001 01101101 01100001 01100111 01101001 01101110 01100001 01110100 01101001 01101111 01101110 00001101 00001010 Introduction: Origins “We create machines in our own image, and they, in turn, recreate us in theirs.” —David Lochhead Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a transdisciplinary field with a long history and philosophy (Cao, 2023) . It is a phenomenon that evolved over time and has heavily influenced human ecosystems in the 21st century (Bozkurt, 2023a) . With the invention of the first computer in 1945 (Weik, 1961), the question of whether machines can think (Turing, 1950) or create independently of their programming (Lovelace, 1843, as cited in Winterson, 2022) has led to the use of the term AI (McCarthy et al. , 1955) and the emergence and development of AI technologies. Asimov (1942, 1950) envisioned the future and introduced the Three Laws of Robotics to manifest the laws that intelligent machines such as [ro]bots should follow. Turi

FAQs

What methodology does the paper use to explore future AI in education?

The paper adopts a speculative methodology, using future-oriented narratives focused on educational contexts.

Which positive and negative impacts of generative AI in education are discussed?

It identifies affordances of AI in Education (AIEd) and discusses possible adverse effects that emerge from the narratives.

Why does the paper argue that now is the right time to define human vs AI roles?

Because AI can increasingly perform educational activities that were previously the prerogative of human educators, making it imperative to rethink roles of technology and educators.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aran