The Paradox of Artificial Intelligence in Adult Learning: Navigating Opportunity, Anxiety, and Impact Through the Lens of Heidegger

The growing presence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics in the workforce presents a complex situation for adult learners in online education, marked by two key anxieties. The first is the fear of becoming professionally obsolete, which motivates them to use AI tools for efficient skill acquisition. However, this dependency on AI leads to a second anxiety: the concern over losing intellectual independence and critical thinking skills. This tension is explored through the lens of Heidegger’s philosophy, where modern technology, or AI in education, is seen not just as a tool but as a way of revealing the world called Enframing (Gestell) (Rogobete, 2015). This philosophical tension suggests the risk of reducing the learner’s mind to a resource within a system that values mere functionality. Furthermore, this article extends this analysis beyond adults to examine the effects of hyper-technological immersion on children, and discusses the compounding mental health crisis in the infosphere, including rising rates of depression and suicide linked to the erosion of authentic human relationships and the isolating nature of digital life.