Moving Education Ecosystems Beyond the Artificial Intelligence Hype

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53761/65aacc07

Keywords:

Generative AI, intelligent technologies, higher education, AI literacy frameworks, assessment , GenAI ethics

Abstract

This editorial introduces the first issue in 2026 of Intelligent Technologies in Education (ITEd), which features emerging research exploring the transformative challenges and opportunities of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in higher education. The collective findings illustrate GenAI's pervasive impact across four main pillars: (1) curriculum design, (2) assessment integrity, (3) pedagogical practices, and (4) institutional policy. A central theme woven throughout the issue is the critical need for ethics and integrity, with multiple authors emphasizing that AI should augment rather than supplant human teaching. The featured research highlights proposed models to seamlessly integrate AI literacy into student competencies, while simultaneously warning that GenAI’s capacity to perform strongly on rigorous tasks forces an urgent rethink of valid assessment designs. The issue also explores the complementary potential of AI in driving educational feedback and recommender systems, though it notes a significant support gap where instructors still face uneven guidance and policies. Rather than offering a checklist of responses to GenAI, this editorial develops a question-oriented agenda for future research on intelligent technologies across educational sectors. Echoing emerging calls to shift from prohibition toward pedagogical innovation, this editorial argues that moving beyond AI hype requires clearer educational purposes, stronger evidence, and a broader understanding of intelligent technologies as part of changing education ecosystems.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

  • Marios Kremantzis, University of Bristol Business School, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom

    Dr Marios Kremantzis (SFHEA, CMBE, AFORS) is a decision scientist and Senior Lecturer in Business Analytics at the University of Bristol Business School. He serves as Programme Co-Director for the MSc Management (and pathways) (700+ students), Education Lead for the Technology & Operations Academic Group (35+ academics), and Co-Chair of the Business Education Research & Scholarship (BERS) Network, supporting curriculum innovation and quality assurance at School level.

    Funded by EPSRC and BAE Systems, he completed a PhD in Management Science at the University of Southampton, specialising in optimisation, efficiency/performance measurement (Data Envelopment Analysis) and multi-criteria decision analysis. At Bristol, he applies and extends this toolkit to employability analytics, student engagement, and the pedagogical implications of Generative and Agentic AI, linking rigorous modelling with research-informed educational innovation.

    His work develops mathematical and AI-enabled approaches that benchmark performance, generate actionable insights and support complex decisions. He has published in Studies in Higher Education, Expert Systems with Applications, Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Sustainable Development, Operational Research, Journal of Global Information Management, and other outlets, alongside scholarly commentary in Times Higher Education. He regularly curates analytics-and-education streams and runs DEA/analytics workshops for international conferences (e.g., OR Society, IFORS, DEA, ICBAP, OAPA, ATINER).

    Editorial & community leadership: Co-Editor-in-Chief of Intelligent Technologies in Education (OAPA); Associate Editor of Interactive Learning Environments (Q1; technology-enabled interactive learning); and Lead Guest Editor/Guest Editor for multiple special issues (SHE, JUTLP), including a Socio-Economic Planning Sciences issue on “Generative AI and Data Envelopment Analysis for Performance Measurement and Public Value”.

    He leads the Bristol Institute for Learning & Teaching project “Enhancing Teaching and Learning through AI Chatbots in Higher Education”. He founded and chairs the OR Society SIG “OR, Analytics & Education”, serves on the OR Society’s General Council and Education Sub-Committee, and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Associate Fellow of the OR Society.

    Awards include Outstanding Lecturer (2025), Research Pedagogy (2025), Personal Tutor (2024) and the University of Bristol Inspiring & Innovative Teaching Award (2023); his MSc Business Analytics team was shortlisted for the 2025 Teaching Team Award.

  • Xue Zhou, University of Leicester School of Business, University of Leicester, United Kingdom

    Professor Xue Zhou is a Professor in AI in Business Education and a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA), recognised for her strategic leadership in advancing curriculum innovation, AI integration, and academic development across higher education.

    Her research focuses on the ethical and effective use of artificial intelligence in education and industry, with particular interests in AI literacy, digital pedagogy, interdisciplinary co-creation, and technology-enhanced learning. She also explores digital transformation and technology adoption in industry, examining how businesses leverage digital tools to drive innovation, operational efficiency, and workforce development.

    Professor Zhou is an Associate Editor of Intelligent Technologies in Education and serves as a guest editor for several academic journals in the fields of digital education, business innovation, and AI. She has led and contributed to a range of funded projects supported by the QAA, British Academy of Management (BAM), ALDinHE, and institutional grants, focusing on AI-enhanced learning, staff development, and student employability.

References

Acharya, B. B., Sharma, B., & Gajurel, D. (2025). GenAI tools in academia: Pedagogical problems faced by Canadian professors. Intelligent Technologies in Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.53761/yam17w66

Chen, Y., Chai, K. K., Wijeratnre, V., Naeem, U., Loo, J., Zhou, X., & Lucas, S. (2025). A GenAI competence framework for engineering curriculum enhancement in higher education. Intelligent Technologies in Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.53761/ITED/1.2

Corbin, T., Bearman, M., Boud, D., Crawford, N., Dawson, P., Fawns, T., Henderson, M., Lodge, J., Luo, J. J., Matthews, K., Nicola-Richmond, K., Nieminen, J. H., Pepperell, N., Swiecki, Z., Tai, J., & Walton, J. (2025). Assessment after artificial intelligence: The research we should be doing. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 22(7), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.53761/w3x5y804

Crawford, J. (2023). Editorial: The need for good leaders in higher education. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 20(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.53761/1.20.01.01

James, T., & Griffin, H. (2025). The temptation of the silver platter: Preventing the sidestep and normalising the productive struggle. Intelligent Technologies in Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.53761/ITED/1.3

Koh, J., Cowling, M., Jha, M., & Sim, K. N. (2025). Evaluation of the AI-teacher teaching tasks spectrum via practitioner review. Intelligent Technologies in Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.53761/ITED/1.8

Lee, D., Arnold, M., Srivastava, A., Plastow, K., Strelan, P., Ploeckl, F., Lekkas, D., & Palmer, E. (2024). The impact of generative AI on higher education learning and teaching: A study of educators’ perspectives. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 6, Article 100221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2024.100221

Nikolopoulou, K. (2024). ChatGPT for educational-academic activities: Preschool student teachers’ experiences. Intelligent Technologies in Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.53761/ITED/1.6

OECD. (2023). OECD digital education outlook 2023: Towards an effective digital education ecosystem. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/c74f03de-en

Pang, T. Y., Kootsookos, A., & Cheng, B. (2025). Artificial intelligence in higher education learning: Transferable skills and academic integrity. Intelligent Technologies in Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.53761/ITED/1.5

Regan, P. M., & Jesse, J. (2019). Ethical challenges of edtech, big data and personalized learning: Twenty-first century student sorting and tracking. Ethics and Information Technology, 21(3), 167–179. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-018-9492-2

Roe, J., Perkins, M., & Ruelle, D. (2024). Is GenAI the future of feedback? Understanding student and staff perspectives on AI in assessment. Intelligent Technologies in Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.53761/ITED/1.7

Schofield, L., & Zhou, X. (2025). Rethinking teaching approaches to integrating AI in teaching and learning. Intelligent Technologies in Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.53761/ITED/1.4

Selwyn, N. (2024). On the limits of artificial intelligence (AI) in education. Nordisk Tidsskrift for Pedagogikk og Kritikk, 10(1), 3–14. https://doi.org/10.23865/ntpk.v10.6062

Songer, R. W., & Yamamoto, T. (2024). Choice diversity in educational recommender systems: User perspectives. Intelligent Technologies in Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.53761/ITED/1.9

Miao, F., & Holmes, W. (2023). Guidance for generative AI in education and research. UNESCO. https://doi.org/10.54675/EWZM9535

Wood, J. M. (2025). Framing the threat posed by ChatGPT for online assessments: Incorporating Discord and deep learning. Intelligent Technologies in Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.53761/ITED/1.1

Zawacki-Richter, O., Marín, V. I., Bond, M., & Gouverneur, F. (2019). Systematic review of research on artificial intelligence applications in higher education: Where are the educators? International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 16, Article 39. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-019-0171-0

Downloads

Published

2026-05-06

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2026): Quarterly Issue 1

Section

Editorial

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Marios Kremantzis, Aniekan Essien, Xue Zhou, Eleonora Pantano (Author)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.