AI-Augmented Heutagogy for Higher Education

The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) presents unprecedented opportunities and challenges for higher education. This forces higher education to confront a critical question: How can this transformative technology reshape learning without diminishing the unique strengths of human cognition? This paper examines how modern AI like GAI can be effectively integrated within a heutagogical framework to enhance teaching, learning, and assessment while developing human intelligence and agency. Drawing on recent research in AI capabilities and limitations, we analyse the distinctions between artificial and human intelligence, emphasising how AI's computational strengths can complement human cognition's emotional and ethical dimensions. We propose an AI-augmented heutagogical design framework aligned with increasing levels of learner autonomy and complexity. This framework demonstrates how AI can facilitate personalized learning pathways while developing both crystallized and fluid intelligence. The paper argues that successful integration of AI in higher education requires intentional pedagogical shifts, faculty development, and infrastructure investments. By foregrounding heutagogy in the modern AI landscape, institutions can create learning environments that promote intrinsic motivation, self-determined learning, and the development of critical 21st-century competencies. This approach positions higher education to evolve beyond building human capital toward fostering comprehensive human development in an AI-augmented world.