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A "transformation" is upon us. After a multi-year procession of educational technology products that , now it's AI's turn.

Global the , as well as , present AI to the

Prominent AI companies with large language model (LLM) chatbots have "education-focused" products, like ChatGPT Education, Claude for Education in Google for Education.

AI products facilitate exciting new ways to search, present and engage with knowledge and have . However, there are regarding AI use such as data privacy, transparency and accuracy.

focus on notions it will upend teaching and learning systems in schools, teacher lesson planning and grading or individualized learning (for example, via personalized student tutoring with chatbots). However, when or whether AI will transform education remains an open question.

In the meantime, it is vital to think about how student engagement with chatbots should make us examine some fundamental assumptions about human learning.

Learning is a social affair

How students view their teachers and their own (known as metacognition) are tremendously important for learning. These factors need to be considered when we think about learning with chatbots.

The popularity of the website in Canada, United States and the United Kingdom is a testament to the significance of what students think about teachers.

With AI's foray into education, students' conceptions of their AI tutors, teachers and graders will also matter for multiple reasons.

First, learning is a thoroughly social affair. From how a child learns through to engaging with or being influenced by , social interactions matter to how we learn.

With use of chatbots increasing to , conversational interactions with LLMs also represent a new para-social interaction space for people worldwide.

What we think of interaction partners

Second, theory-of-mind frameworks suggest that what we think of others influences how we interact with them. How children .

To develop this idea further, beyond other or as interaction partners, what we think about learning tools has an influence on how we learn.

Our sense of tools —the quality or property of a tool that ""—can have consequences for how we use the tool.

can dictate how we use tools, from utensils to computers. If a learner perceives a chatbot to be adept at generating ideas, then it could influence how they use it (for example, for brainstorming versus editing).

New 'social entity'

AI systems, at a minimum, represent the entrance of a new social entity in educational environments, as they have in . People's conceptions of AI can be understood under the larger umbrella of a theory of artificial minds, referring to how humans infer the internal states of AI to predict actions and understand behavior. to non-human AI systems.

A person's theory of artificial minds could develop based on biological maturation and exposure to the technology, and could vary considerably between different individuals.

Three aspects to consider

It's important to consider how student conceptions of AI may impact trust of information received from AI systems; personalized learning from AI; and the role that AI may have in a child's social life:

1. Trust: In human learning, the judgments we make about knowledge and learning go a long way in acceptance of ideas .

From recent studies in children's interactions with conversational AI systems, we see that children's trust in information from AI varies across factors like . A learner's theory of artificial minds would likely affect willingness to trust the information received from AI.

2. Personalized learning: Intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) research has shown for how traditional ITS—without chatbot engagement—can scaffold learners while also helping students identify gaps in learning for self-correction. New chatbot-based ITS, such as KhanMigo from Khan Academy, are being marketed as .

A learner's theory of artificial minds could affect the quality of interactions between them and their AI chatbot tutor and how much they accept their learning support.

3. Social relationships: The artificial friend (the "AF") in is a poignant literary example of the impact an artificial entity can have on a growing child's sense of self and relationship to the world.

We can already see the detrimental effects of introducing children to AI social chatbots with the tragic suicide of a child who was allegedly engaged in .

Social relationships with AI involve a serious renegotiation of the social contract regarding our expectations and understanding of each other. Here, relationships with children need special attention, foremost whether we want children to develop social relationships with AI in the first place.

Where do we go from here?

Many discussions about AI literacy are now unfolding, involving, for example, understanding how AI functions, its limitations and ethical issues. Throughout these conversations, it's essential for educators to recognize that students possess an intuitive sense of how AI functions (or a theory of artificial minds). Students' intuitive sense of AI shapes how they perceive its educational affordances, even without formal learning.

Instruction must account for students' cognitive development, existing experiences and evolving social contexts.

The "rate my AI teacher" future is coming. It will require a focus on students' conceptions of AI to ensure effective, ethical and meaningful integration of AI into future educational environments.

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