When Algorithms Learn to Speak: Debate as Affective Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Abstract
The expansion of generative artificial intelligence in educational and communicative contexts raises questions that go beyond technological integration. When an algorithm can simulate empathy, sustain credible conversations and produce emotionally engaging texts, two educational risks emerge: the homogenisation of language and the weakening of students’ affective and relational competences. This article presents a systematised narrative review with thematic synthesis, organised around three nuclei: generative AI, simulated empathy and persuasion; educational risks, linguistic homogenisation and communicative delegation; Debate, dialogic argumentation and affective literacy. The central argument is that Debate should not be understood as a simple antidote to AI, but as a pedagogical practice that restores time, presence, responsibility and relational exposure to speech. The more communicative technologies become persuasive and apparently empathic, the more schools need to educate students to the emotional and ethical awareness of communication.
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References
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.32043/gsd.v10i3.1747
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Italian Journal of Health Education, Sports and Inclusive Didactics