Application and Impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence Techniques in Education--Citespace-based visualization and analysis

Recently, generative AI technology has arisen as a trending research agenda in education. This study makes an review of 260 documents from the CNKI database published from 2020 to 2024. Through the bibliometric and content analysis methods, together with the CiteSpace tool, highlight the trending application of this technology in education, the distribution characteristics of the core authors and institutions' postings, and the clustering analysis of the research hotspots. The results show continued wide adoption of generative AI technology in education in recent years, peaking sharply in 2023. There hasn't been a stable core group of authors within the field, and the collaborative network is relatively sparse. Research hotspots mainly cover artificial intelligence, human-computer collaboration and educational transformation, which indicates the function generative AI technology could have within the digital transformation and quality enhancement of education. This paper additionally shows the actualization of generative AI technology through its presentation of AI tutors and teaching assistants, teaching models reform, and reshaped instructional evaluation systems via case studies. In face of misuse, integrity issues, and ethical concerns arising, there is a need to find a balance in the application of the technology, such that its more proper development can promote rather than replace human subjectivity.