Thesis research conducted for my M.S. in Applied Anthropology at the University of North Texas (pending publication).
Abstract: The public release of ChatGPT in 2022 led to rapid change in the field of education. When this research was conducted in summer 2025, use of artificial intelligence-based chatbots was widespread among teachers and students, but institutions like school districts and education technology companies were wrestling with questions about how AI should be used in classrooms. This research uses design anthropological methods such as ethnographic interviewing and imagined futures to both examine high school students’ and teachers’ current use and perceptions of generative AI in education, and explore their hopes and fears about how AI might change education and students’ future careers.
The findings highlight the complexity of AI use in the classroom today, including the moralization of AI use in regards to academic misconduct, the potential for AI to undermine student-teacher relationships, and the impact of economic inequality on teachers’ ability to access resources that support classroom AI use. The findings also build on previous research in emerging technology to demonstrate how people understand the value of emerging technologies. The use of imagined futures reveals that students and teachers are most concerned about the potential that AI might replace human relationships in classrooms and remove teacher’s judgement in grading decisions, while they were enthusiastic about the potential for AI to customize learning to students’ skill levels and interests.
This study also identifies an area for future research regarding how the intersection of socioeconomic circumstances and the emergence of LLM-based tools will impact the trajectory of students growing up alongside these shifts. In capturing a nuanced view of artificial intelligence use in education in 2025, this research adds to a growing body of literature about the use of artificial intelligence in education, and introduces important perspectives from potential users of the technology.