Digital Transformation in Education Systems Integrating Generative AI

Dear Colleagues,

Education systems around the world are undergoing a significant digital transformation, driven by advances in artificial intelligence (AI). This era of transformation is redefining education at all levels, highlighting the critical role of AI in improving educational practices and outcomes and leading to socio-technical innovation. The socio-technical paradigm provides a framework for understanding and designing digital innovation in organizations. The socio-technical systems design approach views organizations as an interplay between social and technical systems (Bostrom & Heinen, 1977; Götzen et al., 2023). The core idea is that both technological requirements and the social needs of the people involved need to be considered. Consequently, the socio-technical design of systems enables a holistic view of work processes by considering not only technical processes but also social interactions and structures within an organization. Socio-technical system design therefore distinguishes between a technical subsystem with the workflows of a task and the technologies needed to transform inputs into outputs (Mumford, 2000). In contrast, the social subsystem focuses on the attitudes, skills and values of system members and their structural relationships with each other. The interaction between these two subsystems ultimately leads to the desired outcomes of a work system. The primary goal of a socio-technical system architecture is the meaningful design of human–machine interaction (Urze et al., 2020), incorporating generative AI to foster augmented, hybrid intelligence.

This Special Issue focuses on the design of socio-technical systems that integrate AI in education. In an era of rapid technological advancement, particularly due to the emergence of generative AI, the importance and prevalence of socio-technical systems design is increasing significantly (Latniak et al., 2023). We invite empirical and literature review submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following themes and questions:

• In what ways can a socio-technological perspective help to navigate the ethical considerations associated with AI in education, including issues of data privacy, algorithmic bias, and ensuring digital equity?
• How should or could hybrid intelligence between humans and machines be designed, and what implications does this have for the education system?
• How can the social subsystem, focusing on system members’ attitudes, skills, and values, be effectively engaged and developed in AI-enhanced education systems?
• How can the technical subsystem (technical infrastructure based on large language models) be designed in education systems?
• How can participatory design approaches, involving educators, students, and other stakeholders, be used to co-create AI-driven educational innovations that align with socio-technical values and principles?
• What are some case studies of successful digital transformation initiatives within educational systems, highlighting lessons learned and best practices in leveraging AI?

References 

Bostrom, R. P. & Heinen, J. S. (1977). MIS Problems and Failures: A Socio-Technical Perspective, Part II: The Application of Socio-Technical Theory. MIS Quarterly, 1(4), 11. https://doi.org/10.2307/249019

Latniak, E., Tisch, A. & Kauffeld, S. (2023). Zur Aktualität soziotechnischer Arbeits- und Systemgestaltungsansätze in Zeiten von Digitalisierung und KI. Gruppe. Interaktion. Organization. Zeitschrift für Angewandte Organisationspsychologie (GIO), 54(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11612-023-00673-w

Mumford, E. (2000). A Socio-Technical Approach to Systems Design. Requirements Engineering, 5(2), 125–133. https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00010345

Urze, P., Osório, A. L., Afsarmanesh, H. & Camarinha-Matos, L. M. (2020). A Balanced Sociotechnical Framework for Collaborative Networks 4.0. In L. M. Camarinha-Matos, H. Afsarmanesh & A. Ortiz (Hrsg.), IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology. Boosting Collaborative Networks 4.0 (Bd. 598, S. 485–498). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62412-5_40

Prof. Dr. Sabine Seufert
Guest Editor

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• digital transformation in education
• generative AI
• socio-technical system design
• AI ethics