From AI as a Relational Breaker to a Relational Broker: Comment on Bauer et al. (2025)

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2026

Publisher

Springer

Source Publication

Educational Psychology Revivew

Source ISSN

1040-726X

Original Item ID

DOI: 10.1007/s10648-025-10106-3

Abstract

Relationships are fundamental to who we are as people, to our schools and communities, and to how young people learn and develop. As artificial intelligence (AI) enters K–16 classrooms, it affects not only instruction but also the deep-rooted human connections that have sustained learning across many generations. Recently in this journal, (Bauer et al., Educational Psychology Review 37, 2025) argue that successful AI integration involves moderating factors like students’ literacy, educators’ technological skills, and pedagogical approaches. Building on their focus on cognition, this commentary suggests that we should consider extending these moderating factors to consider how AI compels us to reimagine and refocus on human relationships, those within students themselves and between students and teachers, schools, families, and communities. Rooted in educational psychology literature on relationships, we argue that AI may be a relationship breaker until educators make it a broker. Reliance on AI in education can change how students and teachers see themselves, who they trust, and what kinds of connections endure in an increasingly machine-mediated educational landscape. We review ways in which AI is changing educational relationships at each level, from the intrapersonal (students with themselves), interpersonal in schools (students with teachers), and in the larger learning ecosystem (with families and communities). Considering these levels offers further areas for research and policy beyond the cognitive ones outlined by Bauer et al.

Comments

Educational Psychology Review, Vol. 38 (January 2026). DOI.

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