A DANCE BETWEEN ORDER AND CHAOS: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW ON THE CONVERSATIONS AND CASES OF GENAI’S DUAL ROLE IN EDUCATION

Abstract

ChatGPT and its allied technologies have introduced a state of “educational chaos,” 
igniting widespread discussions about the dual potential of artificial intelligence (AI) 
in education; both beneficial (order) and detrimental (chaos). Although ChatGPT has 
recently celebrated its second anniversary, conversations surrounding its educational 
applications show no signs of waning. Significant developments have emerged across 
three main dimensions involving teacher instructional strategies and student 
learning, institutional policies, and research practices. However, there are limited 
studies that present useful cases capturing these three areas within a single study.  
Using an integrative review approach, the study first identifies key dialogues on the 
contentious role of advanced AI technologies in education and secondly reports actual 
interesting cases of its use in education across the three domains. A total of 21 
articles sourced from Web of Science (WoS) and Google Scholar published between 
2023 and 2024 were critically analysed. The chaos theory by Edward Lorenz served 
as a useful framework for understanding the complexities surrounding GenAI’s 
impact on education and how human ingenuity has leveraged technology for various 
tasks. The findings reveal that while ChatGPT enhances personalised learning, 
supports instructional design, and streamlines research, it also presents challenges 
such as academic integrity, over-reliance on AI-generated content, and the risk of 
misinformation. Institutional responses range from outright bans to adaptive policies 
integrating AI literacy and ethical guidelines. It is recommended that a safe and 
cautious approach be employed in integrating GenAI into education to maximise its 
full benefits and subsequently reduce its potential harmful effects.  
Keywords: artificial intelligence, chatbot, ChatGPT, chaos theory, technologies 
Date of submission: 7th, March 2025; Date of acceptance: 19th, October 2025 
Date of publication: 14th November, 2025 
url:  
*Corresponding author: Michael Agyemang Adarkwah, michael.agyemang.adarkwah@uni-jena.de  
Citation: www.mjdesjournal.com 
Arkaifie, S. J., Adarkwah, M. A., Amponsah, S. & Nkansah, J. O. (2025). A dance between order and 
chaos: an integrative review on the conversations and cases of GenAi’s dual role in education. 
Multidisciplinary Journal of Distance Education Studies, 2025, 3(1), 1-37.