Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED): Towards More Effective Regulation

Abstract This paper critically assesses the effectiveness of the EU AI Act in regulating artificial intelligence in higher education (AIED), with a focus on how it interacts with existing education regulation. It examines the growing use of high-risk AI systems – such as those used in admissions, assessment, academic progression, and exam proctoring – and identifies key regulatory frictions that arise when AI regulation and education regulation pursue overlapping but potentially conflicting aims. Central to this analysis is the concept of human oversight: while the AI Act frames oversight as a safeguard for accountability and fundamental rights, education regulation emphasises the professional autonomy of teachers and their role in maintaining pedagogical integrity. Yet, the regulatory role of teachers in AI-mediated environments remains unclear. Applying Mousmouti’s effectiveness test, the paper evaluates the AI Act along four dimensions – purpose, coherence, results, and structural integration with the broader legal framework – and argues that legal effectiveness in this context requires a more precise alignment between AI and education regulation.