Ethical considerations of integrating new educational technologies into the classroom – Technological ethics construction based on the protection of "thinking sovereignty"

Abstract

With the large‑scale integration of new educational technologies such as generative artificial intelligence, adaptive learning systems, and affective computing into classrooms, the corresponding ethical discussions have primarily focused on privacy, fairness, and interpersonal relationships. This paper raises a deeper ethical issue that has not yet received sufficient attention – the implicit relinquishment of students’ “thinking sovereignty”. Drawing on the theory of technological intentionality, the article reveals how educational technology, under the legitimate goals of “precision”, “efficiency”, and “adaptability”, has shifted from being an auxiliary tool to a cognitive substitute, thereby eroding students’ metacognitive abilities, creative will, and independent thinking rights. To address this crisis, the article constructs three ethical principles – “cognitive friction retention”, “sovereignty transparency”, and “developmental autonomy” – in hopes of preserving an irrevocable thinking territory for education in the technological era.