Synchronous implementation of artificial intelligence and pharmacological cognitive enhancements in education: a socio-philosophical analysis

The article analyzes the prospects and risks of hypothetical synchronous application of AI technologies and pharmacological cognitive enhancements in the educational system through the example of transformation of the system of educational results assessment in mass school. The paper shows that despite the presence of a great potential for improving education, some features of the mass school’s functioning and the social visibility of the results of educational efficiency can become a serious obstacle to gaining positive results of the introduction of these technologies, for example in connection with the introduction of biometrics technologies in mass school. It is shown that these technologies themselves do not necessarily lead to negative consequences and are seen to have a high positive potential, but there arise difficulties when they are implemented in an environment where there have previously occurred problematic administrative and communication practices. The article substantiates that, similarly to biometrics, there is a risk of embedding AI technologies in depersonalized and formalized educational environment of mass school, which will strengthen the orientation toward quantitative measurement of educational effectiveness in the form of a permanent assessment system, which, in turn, will lead to distortion of the essence of the educational process due to the effects of Campbell’s Law. It is also shown that there are high risks of strengthening the neoliberal approach to education in case of legalization of pharmacological cognitive enhancements, which will also lead to epistemological difficulties in interpreting the educational situation (correct understanding of students’ behavior). The conclusion emphasizes the importance of both having a correct strategy for the introduction of AI technologies and pharmacological cognitive enhancements and ensuring the return of a humanistic-sense-based approach to the goals and objectives of education, which only together can lead to significant positive results when using these technologies in education.