BATTITI ALGORITMICI: L’Educazione all’affettività ai tempi della quarta rivoluzione
ALGORITHMIC HEARTBEATS
Affective Education in the Age of the Fourth Revolution
Eighty years ago, with the publication of Evidence (1946), Isaac Asimov was not merely writing about robotics; he was outlining the archetype of a dilemma that today inhabits our classrooms: the distinction between the human being and its perfect simulation. The figure of Stephen Byerley—an individual no one has ever seen eat or sleep, suspected of being an automaton—acts as a mirror in which contemporary generative Artificial Intelligence systems are now reflected. With almost unsettling foresight, Asimov described a “brain” around which a body was constructed, trained to become everything its creator could no longer be: “He sent him out into the world … like an old, maimed teacher whom no one ever saw.”.
This image of the “maimed teacher” operating behind the scenes of technology constitutes a particularly perfect metaphor for the current educational transition. We therefore find ourselves witnessing a race between those who metaphorically “run to the pitchforks”, the so-called “humanoid fundamentalists,” ready to denounce a new “Frankenstein Complex” in every algorithm, and, on the opposite side, the bad boys of the D-Generation, namely those who enthusiastically embrace the total automation of knowledge and learning processes.
While public debate remains largely stalled on issues of computational capacity, the real challenge unfolds on the terrain of empathy. If we return to Alan Turing’s reflections on imitative capacity, an uncomfortable question emerges: if a machine is able to display forms of human-like behavior capable of satisfying a student’s need for care and listening, does the “artificial” nature of that process necessarily invalidate its educational value?
Today, technology has reached a level of sophistication capable of satiating the need for emotional mirroring. Artificial intelligence no longer merely responds to logical queries; it performs affective narratives, modulates tone, and offers an unlimited availability that human figures, often overburdened and “maimed” by bureaucratic and social contingencies, struggle to sustain. The risk is not that machines become human, but that humanity grows accustomed to a form of synthetic affectivity, deprived of the weight of the body and the responsibility inherent in relationship.
Rather than erecting barriers to halt learning systems, we must learn to inhabit progress. For human beings to survive and flourish within the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution, adaptation must occur through the contribution of new forms of meaning-making. The integration of AI into educational contexts is radically transforming relational dynamics: this is no longer merely a matter of digital literacy, but of Digital Affective Literacy, namely the capacity to critically and emotionally navigate affective interactions mediated by digital systems.
We must therefore reflect on how to cultivate authentic relationships within hybrid environments. If algorithms support or replace certain functions, assessment, explanation, even initial psychological support through chatbots, what space remains for educators? That space is one of embodied emotional
awareness, of managing conflicts irreducible to code, and of narrating the limits of human experience. For affective education not to remain merely an isolated lesson, but to become the beating heart of a technologically advanced school, it is necessary to move along the following strategic axes:
- Educational and Social Robotics
The use of mechanical interfaces as mediators for socio-emotional development, particularly in contexts of neurodiversity. - Ethics of Algorithmic Relationships
Educational approaches that enable students to distinguish between the effectiveness of simulation and the depth of human encounter, without demonizing the former while deliberately valuing the latter. - Emotionally Aware Learning Environments
The design of multisensory learning spaces in which technology does not function as a barrier, but as a transparent membrane that facilitates relational contact. - Generative AI as a Symbolic Mirror
The use of AI’s narrative capacities to support students in naming and exploring their emotions, transforming digital output into a starting point for deep introspective reflection.The central question, therefore, is not how much technology needs humanity, or viceversa, but whether we are capable of designing an education that does not see machines as substitutes for the “heartbeat,” but as amplifiers of our capacity to remain human in a rapidly changing world. The “algorithmic heartbeat” must not replace the impulse of the human heart, but challenge us to reconsider what it truly means to be human.The REN International Conference aims to provide spaces and opportunities to explore these transformations and to imagine scenarios of intersection between the human and the artificial, where technological beats meet the affective dimension of education. The conference will bring together the scientific community to reflect on how to rethink relationships, learning environments, and educational practices in the age of the Fourth Revolution.Scholars are invited to contribute research studies, empirical experiences, and theoretical reflections to a critical dialogue on the conference themes. The objective is to construct, through interdisciplinary exchange, new interpretative and operational frameworks capable of informing research, educational policies, and pedagogical practices.The following thematic areas have been identified to guide submissions: -
- Ontology of Care and the Simulation of Empathy Theoretical and philosophical contributions exploring the boundary between humanrelationships and human–machine interaction.
- Social Robotics and Socio-Emotional Inclusion Research studies and practical experiences on the use of artificial agents to foster affective development, with particular attention to neurodiversity and Special Educational Needs (SEN).
- Generative AI and New Narratives of the Self The use of artificial intelligence as a creative tool to explore identity, emotions, and students’lived experience through digital storytelling.
- Hybrid and “Emotionally Aware” Learning Environments The design of physical and digital spaces that integrate sensors, algorithms, and multisensorytechnologies to monitor and support psychophysical well-being within the classroom group.
- Digital Affective Literacy and Citizenship Educational pathways aimed at developing students’ critical thinking and emotional awareness in relation to algorithmic manipulation and social media.
- Teacher Education Between the “Frankenstein Complex” and the D-Generation Reflections and training models for teachers and educators engaged in the transition from traditional teaching to AI-assisted education, addressing resistance and technophobia.
The Scientific Committee will oversee the selection of submissions for each thematic area.
This year, the Organizing Scientific Committee of the REN International Conference has decided to move beyond the traditional format of parallel sessions and to evolve the discussion toward a level of shared exchange more suited to this millennium. Authors of accepted contributions will be invited to take part in Thinking Rooms, conceived as spaces for scientific dialogue and critical discussion on the themes of the conference.
The Thinking Rooms are round-table discussions guided by university professors of recognized scientific authority in the relevant field. The exchange will take place in a dialogical format, without slides or frontal presentations: discussion will be stimulated by the coordinator and participants, starting from the study submitted for publication, fostering critical debate, exchange of experiences, and co-construction of knowledge. Each author may be represented by a maximum of two contributions.
Evaluation Criteria
- Accuracy of citations and referencesia
- Relevance of the content to educational research
- Originality and contribution to scientific advancement
- Accuracy and organization of the manuscript
- Methodological clarity and coherence
Submission Guidelines
The abstract, submitted for participation in the Conference and written in English, must include:
Authors’ names and affiliations Full title of the contribution
Selected topic/theme
Abstract summary (maximum 1,000 characters, spaces included)
Three keywords
Abstracts must be submitted via the submission link ABSTRACT SUBMISSION by 30 April 2026.
Review outcomes will be communicated by 10 May 2026.
All presenters whose abstracts have been accepted must submit the following by 10 June 2026
Submission in closed!!!
- A poster, in English, in PDF format, related to the contribution (DOWNLOAD FORMAT) to be submitted via the following form POSTER SUBMISSION
- A contribution, in English, for a monographic volume, with a maximum length of 6,000 characters (spaces included). The text will be published as a book chapter with ISBN, published by ?, and must be uploaded via the following form PAPER SUBMISSION
- An article, in English, with a maximum length of 44,000 characters (spaces included), for a Special Issue of the Italian Journal of Health Education, Sports, and Inclusive Didactics, a Class A journal for Scientific Disciplinary Groups 11/PAED-01/A, 11/PAED-01/B, 11/PAED- 02/A, and 11/PAED-02/B, to be submitted through the journal’s website ojs.gsdjournal.it.
Please note that only contributions by authors who have actually attended the conference in person will be published.
Publication in the Italian Journal of Health Education, Sports, and Inclusive Didactics is guaranteed by 15 September 2026 for all articles that successfully complete the peer-review process.
Participation Fee
Selected presenters will be required to pay a participation fee of €250.00 + VAT (22%) by 10 June2026, which includes:
- Participation as a speaker in a Thinking Room at the REN International Conference 2026
- Publication of the contribution in abbreviated form as a book chapter in a volume with ISBN,including the relevant Scientific Committee, published this year.
- Publication of the full article in a scientific journal, namely the Italian Journal of Health Education, Sports, and Inclusive Didactics, a Class A journal for Scientific Disciplinary Groups 11/PAED-01/A, 11/PAED-01/B, 11/PAED-02/A, and 11/PAED-02/B (publication of the article is subject to successful completion of the peer-review process andapproval by the Scientific Committee)
- Publication of a dissemination article on the online journal REN Journal
- Participation in the voting process for the attribution of the REN Award
- Round-trip ferry transfer Naples–Ischia
- Dinner and social event on 4th or 5th September
| Deadline | |
| Abstract submission EXTENDED | May 10, 2026 |
| Notification of Abstract acceptance | May 10, 2026 |
| Poster submission | June 10, 2026 extended to June 30,2026 |
| Paper for proceedings (6.000 characters) | June 10, 2026 extended to June 30,2026 |
| Article submission for GSD Journal (44.000 characters) | June 10, 2026 extended to June 30,2026 |
| Registration Fee payment | June 10, 2026 |
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