Semarang, Indonesia – The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has significantly transformed the educational landscape. While AI offers unprecedented opportunities to support learning, excessive reliance on the technology may undermine students’ critical thinking and independent reasoning. Responding to this growing concern, a team participating in the 2026 Student Creativity Program in Social Humanities Research (PKM-RSH) is conducting a research project entitled “From Mutualism to Parasitism? Unveiling the Illusion of Competence and the Decline of Mathematical Reasoning among Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers in the Era of Artificial Intelligence Dependency.” The research is being carried out from 15 June to 7 September 2026 across three partner institutions: the Mathematics Education Study Program at Universitas Negeri Semarang (UNNES), Universitas PGRI Semarang, and UIN Walisongo Semarang.
The research team consists of Elisa Mutiara Fatmadewi, Sabrina Aprilia, Ahmad Taufik Hidayat, Nafa Nur Rakhima, and Indah Maulidya. Notably, Nafa Nur Rakhima, a student from the Sociology and Anthropology Education Study Program, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP), Universitas Negeri Semarang, plays an important role in this interdisciplinary research. Her participation demonstrates that the impact of AI on education should not only be examined through technological and pedagogical perspectives but also through the lens of social sciences, which offer valuable insights into learning behavior, digital culture, and the evolving relationship between humans and intelligent technologies.
The study aims to investigate the relationship between dependence on AI, the emergence of the illusion of competence, and students’ reasoning abilities in solving academic problems. Specifically, the researchers seek to understand how AI, initially functioning as a beneficial learning partner (mutualism), can gradually evolve into a form of dependency (parasitism) when learners rely on it without developing reflective and analytical thinking. Such dependency may weaken critical reasoning, creativity, and independent problem-solving skills—essential competencies for future educators.
Throughout the research period, data are being collected from the three participating universities using a variety of research instruments designed to measure students’ AI usage patterns, self-perceived competence, and the effects of AI dependency on their ability to solve problems independently. The interdisciplinary nature of the project serves as one of its major strengths, combining perspectives from education, learning psychology, and social sciences to better understand the transformation of learning in the digital era.
As a Sociology and Anthropology Education student, Nafa Nur Rakhima contributes a distinctive social science perspective to the project. Her role focuses on examining how AI shapes emerging learning cultures, influences students’ perceptions of their own competencies, and transforms interactions between learners and digital technologies. This perspective is expected to produce recommendations that extend beyond the technical aspects of AI adoption by addressing its broader social, ethical, and behavioral implications.
According to the research team, the rapid expansion of AI in education should be accompanied by stronger digital literacy, critical thinking, and reflective learning practices. Technology should function as a tool that enhances human capabilities rather than replacing the cognitive processes that lie at the heart of education. The findings are therefore expected to provide valuable recommendations for higher education institutions in designing learning strategies that maximize the benefits of AI while preserving students’ intellectual independence.
The collaboration among students from different academic disciplines and universities also demonstrates that addressing educational challenges in the age of AI requires interdisciplinary cooperation. For FISIP UNNES, the participation of a Sociology and Anthropology Education student highlights the strategic contribution of social sciences in understanding the societal impacts of technological transformation on education and the learning behaviors of younger generations.
This PKM-RSH 2026 research project supports the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education) by promoting high-quality, adaptive, and critical-thinking-oriented education in the age of artificial intelligence. It also contributes to SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) by encouraging the responsible and innovative use of digital technologies in education, and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) by fostering collaborative research among students and higher education institutions. Through this initiative, UNNES students demonstrate that technological innovation must always be balanced with a human-centered approach to ensure that educational transformation remains sustainable, ethical, and focused on developing human potential.
