La scuola nel XXI secolo. Promuovere il pensiero critico nella società dell’IA

Abstract

Today’s society is characterised by rapid and profound transformations, most notably the digital revolution, within which the current widespread dissemination of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is situated. These developments entail significant anthropological shifts, insofar as they radically reshape various dimensions of individual and social life. From this perspective, pedagogy and, in particular, the school are called upon to reconsider their role and significance in light of the far-reaching changes affecting personal lifestyles, modes of relationship, individual decision-making, as well as forms of collective, professional, and civic engagement.

In this context, the school is urged to respond to the emerging challenges of the present age, lest it risk social irrelevance. Nonetheless, it must do so while remaining faithful to its pedagogical mission, resisting uncritical adherence to contemporary ideologies that risk relegating it to a subordinate position. Within this framework, the present contribution identified the paradigm of human development in a democratic direction as a guiding context for conceptualising education in relation to digital technologies and Artificial Intelligence. From this point of view, education in critical thinking is interpreted as a fundamental pedagogical objective for schooling that aims to educate individuals to live meaningfully in the present era.