The Emotional Politics of Fear in AI-Driven Education: A Historical and Affective Analysis

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 2:15 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Emerging Directions in Historical Methods

Abstract

This paper explores the emotional politics of fear in the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) within education. Drawing on affect theory and the history of emotions, it argues that fear is not an irrational response but a socially meaningful force that shapes educational policy, pedagogy, and institutional governance. Through a genealogical analysis of successive technological disruptions, from radio to generative AI, it traces how fear has historically operated as both a regulatory and resistant affect. Contemporary fears surrounding AI reflect deeper concerns about epistemic agency, surveillance, labor displacement, and data commodification. Rather than suppress fear, this paper proposes understanding it as a form of embodied knowledge that is essential for cultivating ethical, equitable, and historically conscious approaches to AI-driven education.

Author

• Rick J. Voithofer, The Ohio State University