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Arts & Communication AI in teacher education and critical thinking

creating them from scratch. This approach has also at the service of a position of power. In this sense, critical
generated controversy over copyright, as many of these reflection on the mediatized context we cohabit promotes
tools are trained on artists’ works without their consent, a way of thinking that is far removed from a banking
raising ethical and legal issues. conception of education. Pedagogical lines forge a
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There is also a risk that their excessive use will counter-power that is always necessary, as Escaño points
undermine human creative capacity by fostering out, about web 4.0 where art education, like all areas of
technological dependence to the detriment of personal pedagogy and teaching, currently coexist with AI. These
creative processes. This, in turn, could devalue traditional new tools are no longer mere support for learning; rather,
artistic work, making it difficult to differentiate between they are as important agents in the educational process as
human- and machine-generated works. AI faces significant teachers and students. The teacher/student binomial has
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creative limitations. It lacks human intention, emotions, evolved into a teacher-machine-student triad. Critical
or context, so its creations, while visually impressive, may thinking should be priority at all educational stages and
lack the emotional or narrative depth that characterizes in all areas of knowledge, especially in those linked to arts
human-made art. education, which focuses on the analysis and interpretation
of images. This type of thinking involves the use of
3.2. AI-generated deepfakes imagination, the consideration of diverse perspectives, and
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Martínez et al. pointed out that the detection of fake or the ability to anticipate the consequences of our actions.
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deepfake images and videos is one of the challenges of Education must be connected to reality beyond the school
citizenship in the 21 century. The original intentions of environment and contemporary arts education must be
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these images focused on three specific purposes: humor, nourished by the continuous development of visual culture
revenge, and pornography. 34,35 Considering this and the and the new forms of participation that emerge in the
exponential growth, it has had in recent years, occupying digital context. 41
and serving the purposes of multiple categories and On the other hand, in this study on the potentialities
themes, as Castañares et al. and Castañares pointed out, and need for criticism that AI presents for the educational
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the educational background that these images demand context, we cannot fail to reflect on its purposes and the
is in tune with contemporary citizenship as it is, at the link with pedagogical, social, and political practice, in the
same time, a mirror of itself. This idea connects with terms proposed by Giroux. At present, AI capabilities
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that of a prosumer society in which individuals are both serve both positive and negative purposes, with the negative
producers and consumers of content. Reality, in these ones being used more than the positive ones. However,
terms understood, is constructed from visual discourse. from the perspective of arts education, it is presented as a
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Reconstruction is necessary through criticism and literacy tool capable of fostering creativity and recreating past and
that translates a renewed code – the visual – in constant future worlds. Our role as educators is to encourage the
transformation. Transduction of the deepfake images into positive use of these new digital tools and to warn of their
something objective where the true false nature of these negative consequences for society, in the different forms of
images is revealed. violence they can exert.

3.3. Education and the development of critical From this conviction, the classroom is an ideal space
thinking to involve students in the development and deepening

As researchers in arts education, well into the second of thinking and learning experiences, as well as to
decade of the 21 century, our task is developed not only promote their integration. At present, we are witnessing
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in working with artistic techniques and practices but also a growing fictionalization of life, driven by a culture of
in the reflection and development of critical thinking consumption and production of content (prosumer),
that emerges for this new time, in the light of these new amplified by phenomena such as deepfakes. This trend
fake imaginaries. Castillero Mimenza states that critical toward identification with fictional characters in various
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thinking implies being able to set aside the different media (film, literature, art, internet models) highlights
fallacies and biases to focus on seeking the most justified the need for interventions focused on the development
and reasoned truth possible, seeking proof and evidence of critical thinking, which could improve the capacity for
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that what is said or done is true. It is based on the search discernment and foster empathetic behavior. Criticism
for objectivity, ignoring the subjective and manipulative expressed through critical thinking is presented as a
elements that other people or even oneself may introduce necessary counterbalance to the excess of images that
in the analysis of the information. Critical thinking should seduce viewers. Both through their messages and familiarity
not be confused with common sense, nor should it be put with the models, they allow analysis through arguments

Volume 3 Issue 3 (2025) 9 doi: 10.36922/ac.5047