Critical Consciousness, Equity, and Speculative Futures: Reframing AI as a Catalyst for Human Connection and Systemic Change in Engineering Education

This practice paper explores how artificial intelligence (AI) can be reimagined as a catalyst for cultivating critical consciousness, challenging systemic inequities, and fostering human connection in engineering education. Drawing on Black feminist thought and critical pedagogy, three reflective narratives illustrate how AI tools can support equity-centered goals when critically engaged. These narratives examine AI as a critical friend for graduate students, the ethical tensions of AI mentorship for neurodivergent academics, and the use of AI in speculative design for institutional change. The paper highlights AI’s potential for emancipatory education while addressing its systemic risks, limitations, and possibilities for justice.