Refusing Educational Technology: Artificial Intelligence, Inequity, and the Problem of Critical Optimism

Artificial intelligence (AI)—like many technologies before—comes with hope and worry about its implications for education. In this essay, using generative AI as a case, we appraise the ideological field of positions that stakeholders take in relation to educational technology overall. Drawing on science and technology studies, our analysis shows that education’s default position is optimism, even among those genuinely “critical” of technology’s capacity to amplify inequity. Refusal is not widely regarded as a legitimate response to educational technology. We argue, in contrast, that given the potential for scalable harm from unproven technologies like generative AI, the most rational position with new technology is robust caution with a readiness to refuse. We conclude by detailing three forms of refusal for educational stakeholders to consider: curricular, bureaucratic, and administrative.