The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Learning: Opportunities and Challenges in the Digital Era

Abstract

Introduction to the Problem: The rapid development of artificial intelligence, and of generative AI and intelligent tutoring systems in particular, has triggered a revolution of paradigm in the landscape of modern education. AI is no longer merely an instrument of administrative automation but has been transformed into a cognitive partner reconfiguring the pedagogical interaction between educator and learner. Purpose: This article aims to analyse comprehensively the spectrum of opportunities and challenges in the use of AI in the learning process in the digital era. Design/methods/approach: Using a descriptive-analytical qualitative method based on critical library research, the study explores the most recent literature on artificial intelligence in education and on frameworks for the regulation of technological ethics. Findings: The findings show that AI offers transformative opportunities in facilitating personalized learning, real-time feedback, the automation of formative assessment, and efficiency in designing educational content. Its adoption nonetheless faces substantial ethical and pedagogical challenges, including the degradation of learners’ critical reasoning through excessive dependence, threats to academic integrity, the problem of algorithmic bias, and the protection of students’ personal data. Originality/value: The study recommends the formulation of an integrated framework of AI literacy and of a human-in-the-loop pedagogy of human–AI collaboration for educators and for educational developers, so as to ensure that the integration of AI remains grounded in the values of humanism, justice, and intellectual emancipation.