Generative AI and generativity in education: implications of temporality and succession in human life
Fritzsche A (2026)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2026
Journal
Original Authors: Albrecht Fritzsche
DOI: 10.1007/s00146-026-03143-1
Abstract
Generativity has recently gained attention as a property of a specific class of algorithms in machine learning. However, the term has also been used elsewhere with a different meaning. In particular, it plays an important role in Erikson’s model of human development, with many implications for education from psychological and sociological points of view. For research on applications of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in education, these points of view are relevant as well. They allow for a comparative investigation of different views on generativity, which are described here as psychosocial views on the one hand and technical views on the other. What psychosocial views add to research on generative AI is a reference to temporality and succession as key issues in human life. Both play an important role in education. Furthermore, they cause tensions in the transition from student to teacher, adding dialectic dynamics to education and the overall relationship between generations. Applications of generative AI in education leave little space for these dynamics to be acted out between humans and their human successors. At the same time, tensions become visible elsewhere, regarding humanity as such and its succession. Considering all this, new questions must be asked about the function of education in society and its ability to mediate transitions between generations.
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Slovenia (SI)How to cite
APA:
Fritzsche, A. (2026). Generative AI and generativity in education: implications of temporality and succession in human life. AI and Society. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-026-03143-1
MLA:
Fritzsche, Albrecht. "Generative AI and generativity in education: implications of temporality and succession in human life." AI and Society (2026).
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