A Socratically Scaffolded Personal AI Mentor for Postdigital Lifelong Learning

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are entering adult education without adequate andragogical grounding. This paper addresses that gap by developing an evidence-informed conceptual architecture for a Socratically scaffolded Personal AI Mentor in postdigital lifelong learning. The approach is conceptual framework development through theory-to-application translation, drawing on the author’s qualitative evidence synthesis (QES) of seven stud­ies of digital and e-mentoring in adult and professional learning. The theoretical base, grounded in Dewey’s pragmatism and transactional realism, integrates andragogy, transformative learning, critical inquiry, Socratic questioning, experiential learning, and social sustainability. The resulting architecture specifies six design compo­nents: goal-oriented engagement, a Socratic-Kolb inquiry process, a dialectic trace, resilient continuity, a human bridge, and agentic constraints. The paper concludes that AI mentoring should preserve learner agency, support reflective inquiry, sustain continuity, and connect learners to human communities.