About active students: Hannah Arendt’s analyses of activities as a reflective tool for the use of artificial intelligence in higher education

The future of higher education is characterized by its complexity, diversity of perspectives and openness, especially with regard to the use of artificial intelligence (AI). These characteristics represent strengths and provide a variety of research impulses. However, they can also lead to disorientation in discussions about future developments in higher education. In this context, and drawing on Hannah Arendt’s books The Human Condition and The Life of the Mind, this paper looks at human activities, discusses the extent to which they are reflected in the aims of higher education, and helps to analyse future developments in this sector. Subsequently, a future scenario for the use of AI illustrates the exemplary application of Arendt’s schemes of human activities.