Sessions

Abstract

The intersection of human cognition and computational intelligence represents one of the most consequential and theoretically complex frontiers in contemporary educational research. As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in education, a pressing need emerges to move beyond surface-level applications and develop frameworks that account for how human and machine agents jointly process, interpret, and act upon information in educationally meaningful ways. This talk addresses that need by proposing a critical conceptual framework for understanding hybrid intelligence through the lens of information processing theory. Grounded in foundational perspectives from cognitive psychology, distributed cognition, and the learning sciences, this presentation revisits classical information processing models and examines their explanatory adequacy and limitations when applied to contemporary human-AI configurations. Building on this critical foundation, the presentation introduces a structured framework that distinguishes key dimensions of hybrid information processing and the conditions under which machine-generated outputs are productively assimilated into human reasoning and decision-making. It is contended that advancing education in the age of artificial intelligence demands not a choice between human and machine intelligence, but a rigorous and theoretically informed commitment to understanding how the two can be meaningfully and equitably bridged.

Biography

Dirk IFENTHALER is a Professor and Chair of Learning, Design and Technology at the University of Mannheim, Germany, and UNESCO Co-Chair on Data Science in Higher Education Learning and Teaching at Curtin University, Australia. Dirk’s research focuses on the intersection of cognitive psychology, educational technology, data analytics, and organisational learning. He received an honorary doctorate in educational science (doctor honoris causa) from the University of Eastern Finland in 2024. Dirk IFENTHALER is the Editor-in-Chief of the Technology, Knowledge and Learning and Editor-in-Chief of Educational Technology & Society.