Reconstructing the Aims of Higher Education in the Era of Generative AI: A Philosophical Account of Student Agency and Justified Delegation

Abstract

The arrival of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has made it necessary to revisit an old philosophical question: how is the production of academic work related to the formation of the person who produces it? This article explores how the aims of higher education might be rebuilt around student agency, drawing on epistemological, ethical, and humanistic lines of inquiry. The study takes the form of a conceptual literature review based on purposively selected publications from 2020 to 2025. Twelve full-text sources, consisting of journal articles and a UNESCO guidance document, shaped both the methodological design and the substantive analysis. Empirical findings, conceptual arguments, and policy recommendations were kept apart during the analysis before being brought together in a normative synthesis.
Three interrelated educational commitments emerge from this synthesis: understanding that students are able to explain and critically revise, responsibility for decisions taken with the help of AI, and participation in learning that honours personal growth and fair access. On this basis, the article offers a deliberative framework for judging delegation to AI, organised around five considerations: learning aims, the activities handed over, verification, accountability, and student participation. The framework allows for substantial assistance where it widens access and supports learning, yet it asks for evidence that students remain answerable for the intellectual work under assessment. What the article contributes is a philosophical account of justified delegation, not an empirically tested assessment tool. Its practical implications point toward process-sensitive assessment, clear rules for AI assistance, and institutional responsibility for creating the conditions in which students can exercise meaningful agency.