Introduction to Leisure and Artificial Intelligence: Critical Commentaries

Abstract

Abstract Generative artificial intelligence (Gen-AI) is increasingly reshaping how people seek and process information, make decisions, and spend their free time. This special issue brings together 28 critical commentaries and a closing Parting Thoughts essay to examine what that means for leisure. The essays fall into four clusters: Philosophical and Human Essence Critiques; Ethics, Morality, and Power; Pedagogy, Curriculum, Teaching and Learning; and Populations, Places, and Governance. I argue that leisure scholarship must treat Gen-AI as a central and urgent concern: researchers, educators, and practitioners need to adapt quickly to a technological revolution whose consequences remain deeply uncertain.