Ontological Inquiry into Schools in the Era of Artificial Intelligence
The rapid rise of artificial intelligence(AI)technology has provided practical conditions for school education reform while simultaneously posing implicit challenges to traditional school forms.This study,centered on the question of school persistence in the AI era,explores the legitimacy and functional reconstruction of schools against the backdrop of technological innovation from an ontological perspective.It reviews the historical context of recurring debates on school persistence and reveals how technological innovation challenges school forms,functions,and legitimacy through decentralized knowledge dissemination,the emergence of personalized learning,and the weakening of social education functions.Through analyzing the dynamic tension between AI empowerment and school disruption,this study examines three aspects:why schools exist,how they persist,and their future forms.The research finds that schools evolve around the coupling and reconstruction of three essential elements—thinking,cognition,and teaching—rooted in society's changing intellectual demands and the incomplete compatibility between thinking and cognition.Based on this,the logical pathway and practical dimensions for school persistence in the AI era should reflect a progression from dynamic balance to symbiotic advancement,necessitating a redefinition of schools'essence and functions,reconstruction of educational values and ethics,and establishment of a"school-technology-society"collaborative governance innovation framework.