Qualia Skepticism in Schooling and Deontic Safeguards for Consciousness-Like AI in Education

Abstract

Drawing on philosophy of mind, learning sciences, and sociotechnical governance, this chapter advances a simulation first framework that harvests instructional dividends of AI while preserving human primacy. We codify ontological hygiene that separates functional mimicry from phenomenal realization, define discursive and interface semantics that calibrate trust, and supply evaluation matrices linking mastery, transfer, and calibration to safety and equity. Embodiment and presence function as sensorimotor scaffolds that boost throughput without licensing personification; affective computing is bounded by opt in consent, uncertainty disclosure, and human verification. A federated governance architecture operationalizes transparency, consent, model risk, and fairness through auditable controls, stop rules, and incident forensics. The result is a portable, evidence aligned playbook that converts contested metaphysics into reproducible classroom routines and policy in diverse contexts.