Digital, Virtual and AI: A New pAIdeia?

The real/digital relationship is integrative, complementary, thus of a systematic relationship, in which subjectivity is expanded, supported and transformed into a series of duplicated pluralities of the individual and the socio-psycho-anthropological environment that distinguishes it. New ontologies of human/machine relationships and the neural parameters that underlie the human/environment relationship are being reorganized by the overlap between real and digital worlds. The environment is enriched and expanded by various elements that overcome the dichotomy between real and digital and confront other mediatized realities, rebuilt and replaced “by” and “in” the digital. In order to utilize Artificial Intelligence in education, it is necessary to combine intelligent technologies and educational learning environments, in both real and virtual contexts. The introduction of AI in education, if conceived as a new Paideia, involves not only improving learning processes to enhance student performance, but also improving teaching. Teachers’ digital competence in managing digital tools, software, and technological devices in relation to specific educational strategies is necessary for the application of Artificial Intelligence in educational contexts. To prepare a reasoned proposal regarding the possible use of AI within school contexts, we proposed a structured and semi-structured qualitative survey to ascertain the degree of acceptance and openness of digital technologies within some schools in Rome. Our research was directed towards confirming the teachers’ readiness to change and their understanding of the strong transitions taking place. To gain insight into current educational challenges, we conducted a cognitive analysis on schoolteachers of various grade levels in Rome.