Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the broader context of language loss and explores the transformative potential of technology in education, shedding light on its implications for the future of education anthropology.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores the intersection of education anthropology, technology, and language education in the rapidly changing technological and educational context of our world. I will draw on my research on the use of artificial intelligence for teaching and learning Nepal Bhasa, one of the minoritized languages in Nepal. With the rapid development of artificial intelligence-based language technology, this new technological space is increasingly presented as a promising avenue for new futures in global education systems, and its implications for educational aspirations as well as language development aspirations of minoritized language communities. These developments need to be understood within the context where more than half of the languages spoken today are predicted to die by the next century. The "death" of a language is generally considered the point at which "nobody speaks it anymore"; in other words, language loss can be viewed as this ongoing disembodiment, and for any language to have life, it must be spoken by its speakers. When no new speakers are taught or no new speakers learn these languages, it is considered to be dying. The paper explores the ontological conceptualization of education and implications for education anthropology that emerge when AI is integrated into education. By approaching AI as a potential life-giving source, the paper contributes to the understanding of embodiment and disembodiment in education, offering a glimpse into the imagination of a new educational future and its implications for education anthropology.