The double-edged sword: Open educational resources in the era of Generative Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

The integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) into the Open Educational Resources (OER) landscape represents a paradigmatic shift, transforming OER from static content into a dynamic, algorithmic infrastructure. While GenAI promises to democratize content creation and accelerate localization, it simultaneously introduces profound ethical and epistemic risks. This commentary, in this regard, adopts a speculative-critical methodological approach to interrogate the "double-edged" nature of this transition. We analyze several emerging tensions: the ontological crisis of human authorship, which challenges traditional copyright frameworks; the risk of "openwashing" where proprietary models appropriate the language of the open movement; the potential for automated translation to amplify Global North epistemic biases; and the paradox of hallucination where OER serves as both a corrective ground truth and a potential casualty of remix culture. By comparing and contrasting the optimistic imaginaries of AI-enhanced access against critical perspectives on data surveillance and commodification, this paper argues that the binary definition of "openness" is no longer sufficient. We conclude that ensuring equity in the AI era requires a transition from open content creation to the stewardship of "white box" technologies and transparent digital public goods.