Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an integral component of modern education, influencing teaching methodologies, assessment practices, and learning experiences. While AI offers significant benefits in personalizing education and supporting learners, its excessive or substitutive use risks undermining essential human elements such as creativity, critical thinking, and moral reasoning. This post argues that AI should be used as a supplementary tool rather than a substitutive one in education. Drawing upon contemporary studies, the discussion explores pedagogical, ethical, and cognitive dimensions of AI use, emphasizing the irreplaceable role of human educators in fostering authentic learning.
1. Introduction
The emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education has transformed traditional pedagogical approaches. From adaptive learning systems to intelligent tutoring and automated grading, AI technologies now play a crucial role in supporting students and educators (Luckin et al., 2016). However, with the rise of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, concerns have surfaced about AI replacing core human academic processes. While AI can efficiently perform certain instructional tasks, it lacks the emotional intelligence, ethical judgment, and creativity that define human teaching and learning (Holmes et al., 2021). Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that AI serves as a supplementary aid that enhances learning, rather than a substitutive force that replaces human intellectual engagement.
2. The Role of AI as a Supplementary Tool
2.1 Enhancing Learning through Supportive Technology
AI, when appropriately integrated, provides valuable support to students and teachers. It can personalize learning experiences by identifying strengths and weaknesses and tailoring instructional content accordingly (Kasneci et al., 2023). For example, adaptive learning platforms such as Carnegie Learning and Knewton analyze performance data to recommend targeted exercises that improve comprehension. These systems augment, rather than replace, the teacher’s role by enabling educators to focus on mentoring, creativity, and higher-order thinking (Luckin et al., 2016).
2.2 Supporting Educators and Reducing Workload
AI can assist teachers by automating repetitive administrative tasks such as grading quizzes, monitoring attendance, or analyzing student data (Holmes et al., 2021). This allows educators to dedicate more time to instructional design, emotional support, and interactive teaching—activities that require human empathy and judgment. As Seldon and Abidoye (2018) emphasize, AI should "liberate teachers from bureaucracy, not replace them in the classroom."
2.3 Facilitating Accessibility and Inclusivity
AI tools also support learners with disabilities or those facing linguistic barriers. Text-to-speech, predictive text, and real-time translation tools foster inclusive learning environments (Zawacki-Richter et al., 2019). By supplementing human instruction, these technologies help level the educational playing field while maintaining the centrality of human guidance.
3. The Risks of Substitutive Use of AI
3.1 Erosion of Human Agency and Creativity
Overreliance on AI for writing, problem-solving, and critical analysis risks diminishing students’ creative and cognitive skills (Lund & Wang, 2023). When learners depend on AI to generate essays or complete projects, they bypass essential processes of reflection and inquiry. Boud and Molloy (2013) assert that learning is an “active construction of meaning,” which cannot be replaced by automated systems. AI may provide convenience, but it cannot replicate the deep cognitive engagement that fosters intellectual growth.
3.2 Ethical and Integrity Concerns
AI substitution raises questions about academic integrity. Tools that generate essays or code blur the line between assistance and cheating (Cotton et al., 2023). This “AI-enabled plagiarism” undermines authentic learning and the development of personal responsibility. Furthermore, data-driven AI systems raise ethical issues related to privacy, surveillance, and bias in educational decision-making (Williamson & Hogan, 2020).
3.3 Emotional and Pedagogical Limitations
Teaching involves empathy, encouragement, and moral development—qualities that AI systems cannot embody. The emotional connection between teachers and students fosters motivation and resilience (Holmes et al., 2021). When AI substitutes these interactions, education risks becoming mechanistic and impersonal, reducing the holistic value of learning.
4. Pedagogical Balance: Integrating AI Responsibly
To ensure that AI functions as a supplementary tool, educational systems must adopt frameworks that promote ethical integration and AI literacy. Teachers should be trained to use AI tools critically and to guide students in ethical engagement with these technologies (Kasneci et al., 2023). Curriculum reforms should emphasize reflective assignments, open-ended projects, and process-based assessments that prioritize original thought (Cotton et al., 2023). Moreover, policymakers should establish clear guidelines on AI use to protect human agency and preserve the intellectual and moral purposes of education.
5. Discussion
The integration of AI into education represents both a challenge and an opportunity. When used supplementarily, AI enhances learning, inclusivity, and efficiency. However, when used as a substitute, it risks undermining academic integrity, creativity, and human connection. As Williamson and Hogan (2020) argue, AI must remain “a partner in pedagogy rather than its replacement.” The central goal of education—to cultivate independent, critical, and ethical thinkers—requires human guidance that no algorithm can replicate.
6. Conclusion
AI should be seen not as a replacement for human educators but as a supplementary force that supports the teaching and learning process. When integrated ethically and responsibly, AI can personalize education, reduce administrative burdens, and foster inclusivity. However, the substitution of human intellectual and emotional labor with algorithmic systems risks eroding the fundamental aims of education. Therefore, AI’s role should remain that of an assistant—a powerful, but secondary, partner to human wisdom, creativity, and compassion.
References
- Boud, D., & Molloy, E. (2013). Feedback in higher and professional education: Understanding it and doing it well. Routledge.
- Cotton, D. R. E., Cotton, P. A., & Shipway, J. R. (2023). Chatting and cheating: Ensuring academic integrity in the era of ChatGPT. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 60(2), 205–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2023.2190148
- Holmes, W., Bialik, M., & Fadel, C. (2021). Artificial Intelligence in Education: Promises and Implications for Teaching and Learning. Center for Curriculum Redesign.
- Kasneci, E., Sessler, K., Küchemann, S., Bannert, M., & Kasneci, G. (2023). ChatGPT for good? On opportunities and challenges of large language models for education. Learning and Individual Differences, 103, 102274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2023.102274
- Luckin, R., Holmes, W., Griffiths, M., & Forcier, L. B. (2016). Intelligence unleashed: An argument for AI in education. Pearson.
- Lund, B. D., & Wang, T. (2023). ChatGPT and academic dishonesty: Exploring student perceptions and implications for educators. Journal of Applied Learning and Teaching, 6(1), 20–30.
- Seldon, A., & Abidoye, O. (2018). The Fourth Education Revolution: Will Artificial Intelligence Liberate or Infantilise Humanity? University of Buckingham Press.
- Williamson, B., & Hogan, A. (2020). Commercialisation and privatisation in/of education in the context of AI. Educational Research and Innovation Series. OECD.
- Zawacki-Richter, O., Marín, V. I., Bond, M., & Gouverneur, F. (2019). Systematic review of research on artificial intelligence applications in higher education. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 16(1), 39. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-019-0171-0
