Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a technological impulse with the capacity to impact various sectors, including education. This article presents a critical analysis of AI from the perspective of the Frankfurt School, focusing on its educational impact without neglecting its socio-cultural implications. The Frankfurt School, with its focus on critical theory, provides a useful framework for evaluating the implications of AI in contemporary society. Topics such as alienation, reification, and social control are explored, highlighting how these concepts manifest in the context of AI and education.

The qualitative and critical analysis reveals how AI can lead to forms of alienation, where there is a possibility that students interact more with machines than with humans, undermining the important social dimension of learning. Reification is observed in the reduction of qualitative aspects of learning to quantitative metrics, dehumanizing the educational process. AI's ability to monitor student performance and behavior raises concerns about privacy and the ethical use of data, as well as the possibility of expanding and entrenching existing inequalities.

The role of teachers and educational institutions is also affected, as the automation of tasks can free up time for more creative approaches, but it can also lead to excessive dependence on AI tools, reducing teachers' autonomy and critical capacity. From a critical perspective, AI offers opportunities to improve access to educational resources and develop pedagogies that foster critical thinking. However, it is crucial to adopt a critical-reflective approach to its implementation, questioning the underlying motivations and power structures.

Thus, it is observed that the integration of AI in education presents both significant opportunities and challenges. From the perspective of the Frankfurt School, it is essential to approach AI with a critical mindset that considers technical and operational benefits as well as social, cultural, and ethical implications. To fully leverage these opportunities, a reflective approach that values humanity and social justice at the heart of any technological innovation is necessary.

Keywords: IA Educational Technology, Critical Theory, Student Alienation, Data Privacy, Pedagogical Innovation.