GENERATIVE AI AS A PEDAGOGICAL ASSISTANT: PERCEPTIONS AND ETHICAL DILEMMAS IN THE TRAINING OF FUTURE EDUCATORS

Abstract

Within the context of the current changes taking place in education, we will analyze how the integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) as a pedagogical assistant offers both opportunities and risks. To this end, we focus on both the perceptions and the ethical challenges faced by teachers in training with the use of this new technology. This theoretical essay is situated within the interpretive paradigm and examines, through reasoned reflection, emerging practices in the digital classroom, as well as the evolution of the teacher's role in the face of the new reality of knowledge. In developing this topic, we discuss both the potential of AI as a cognitive assistant capable of optimizing teaching, contrasting it with the dilemmas and risks associated with its use, such as the erosion of academic integrity, intellectual dependence, algorithmic biases, and the potential atrophy of the future educator's critical thinking skills. Through an argument based on critical pedagogy, the implementation of an Ethical-Algorithmic Literacy model is discussed. This proposal includes redesigning formative assessment through co-creation journals and prompt analysis, prioritizing the reflective process over the final product. The findings suggest that, while administrative efficiency increases, a significant gap persists in the ethical training of future educators. It is concluded that algorithmic literacy is an imperative competency to ensure that teachers act as ethical filters and mediators of meaningful learning. Finally, new questions are raised regarding equity in technological access and the potential homogenization of pedagogical thinking, urging the academic community to continue research in this constantly evolving field. The ethical integration of generative AI in teacher training requires an ethical-algorithmic literacy model that prioritizes critical reflection over technical efficiency, redefines assessment as a process, and trains teachers as ethical filters, not merely as users of the tool..