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Teaching in the AI Era: Sustainable Digital Education Through Ethical Integration and Teacher Empowerment

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  • Ahmet Küçükuncular

    (Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Near East University, Nicosia 1010, Cyprus)

  • Ahmet Ertugan

    (Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Near East University, Nicosia 1010, Cyprus)

Abstract

This study critically examines the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into education through the lens of Marx’s theory of alienation, engaging with contemporary critiques of digital capitalism and academic labour. Drawing on an exploratory survey of 395 educators in Northern Cyprus, a context of early-stage AI adoption, the paper identifies four distinct forms of alienation exacerbated by AI: from the product of academic labour, from the educational process, from professional identity (species-being), and from interpersonal relations. Findings suggest that while educators who view AI more positively tend to report lower levels of alienation, particularly with respect to their pedagogical outputs, this association is tentative due to the low reliability of the AI perception scale (Cronbach’s α = 0.42). The results, therefore, serve as hypothesis-generating rather than conclusive. Situating the empirical findings within broader critiques by Noble, Hall, Preston, and Komljenovic, the study highlights how algorithmic governance, commercial platform logics, and data-driven performance regimes threaten teacher autonomy, creativity, and relationality. The paper concludes with a call for participatory governance, ethical oversight, and human-centred design to ensure that AI integration supports, not supplants, educators. In doing so, it contributes to critical debates on the ethical sustainability of digital education under conditions of intensifying automation.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahmet Küçükuncular & Ahmet Ertugan, 2025. "Teaching in the AI Era: Sustainable Digital Education Through Ethical Integration and Teacher Empowerment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-20, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:16:p:7405-:d:1725621
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Firuz Kamalov & David Santandreu Calonge & Ikhlaas Gurrib, 2023. "New Era of Artificial Intelligence in Education: Towards a Sustainable Multifaceted Revolution," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-27, August.
    2. Maria José Sousa & Ana Lúcia Marôco & Sónia P. Gonçalves & Andreia de Bem Machado, 2022. "Digital Learning Is an Educational Format towards Sustainable Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-16, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Merve Şahin, 2025. "Analyzing the Foundations of Social Sustainability in Teacher Education: A Study of Self-Regulation, Social-Emotional Expertise, and AI-TPACK," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-22, September.

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