IMPACTS OF CHATGPT ON THE LEARNING PROCESS OF TECHNICAL STUDENTS: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL EDUCATION IN BRAZIL

Abstract

This article analyzes the impacts of using generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), and specifically ChatGPT, on the learning process of students in professional and technical education in Brazil. The introduction contextualizes the rapid insertion of large language models into the school ecosystem and the resulting need to discuss student autonomy in the face of growing cognitive automation. The method adopted consists of qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive research, operationalized through a systematic bibliographical review carried out in consolidated databases such as SciELO, the CAPES journal portal, and Google Scholar, with a sample of productions published between 2021 and 2026. The analysis of the documentary corpus was based on the assumptions of Laurence Bardin's Content Analysis. The results indicate that ChatGPT acts in a dialectical way: on one hand, it optimizes productivity, personalizes study rhythms, and supports the practical learning of programming and computer science; on the other hand, it induces serious risks of cognitive dependence, invisible plagiarism, and the atrophy of critical reasoning. The conclusion points out that the future of technical education under the aegis of generative AI depends on a profound reconfiguration of the teacher's role as a critical mediator, on investment in continuing professional development, and on the restructuring of evaluative practices, ensuring human protagonism and ethical-digital literacy in Brazilian professional education.