The Subjectivity Dilemma and Path of Restoration in Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Reflections Based on Marx's Theory of Alienation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.62517/jhet.202515657
Author(s)
Wang Guifeng
Affiliation(s)
Shenzhen Polytechnic University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Abstract
Artificial intelligence is penetrating the field of education with unprecedented depth and breadth, demonstrating significant potential in enhancing teaching efficiency and achieving personalized learning. However, it has also raised profound concerns about the possible erosion of human subjectivity. This paper, using Marx's theory of alienation as an analytical framework, systematically examines the multiple risks of AI applications in education that lead to the alienation of students' and teachers' subjectivity. It reveals the latent "alienation of outcomes," "alienation of processes," "alienation of species essence," and "alienation of relationships" in the educational domain under the expansion of technological rationality. The research points out that technology itself is not the root cause of alienation; the key lies in whether its application logic truly serves the all-round development of human beings. Looking to the future, education should promote the deep integration of AI and humanistic spirit in education by advocating "value-embedded" technology design, promoting "subject-empowering" quality cultivation, and strengthening "value-leading" ethical governance, thereby safeguarding and elevating human subjectivity in the technological era.
Keywords
Artificial Intelligence; Education; Theory of Alienation
References
[1] Marx & Engels Collected Works: Volume 232[M]. Beijing: People's Publishing House, 2006.
[2] Nilsson N. The Quest for Artificial Intelligence: A History of Ideas and Achievements[M]. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
[3] Marx K, Engels F. Marx and Engels Selected Works: Volume 1[M]. Beijing: People's Publishing House, 2012.
[4] Ma Yuhuan, Xu Jiawei. Exploring the Alienation of Humans in the Context of Generative Artificial Intelligence: From a Marxist Perspective[J]. Journal of Henan University of Science and Technology (Social Science Edition), 2025, 43(06).
[5] Ethics in the Age of Technology: Dilemmas and Choices[N]. China Social Sciences Daily, 2019-11-12.