White Paper 2: The Mirage of Adaptivity: When AI Mistakes Responsiveness for Learning
 
This white paper challenges the widespread claim that educational AI is truly “adaptive.” It argues that most systems are merely responsive, adjusting outputs without evolving alongside the learner. Drawing on the Entagogy framework, the paper exposes how current platforms create the illusion of personalisation while reinforcing predictable patterns and limiting cognitive growth. It identifies key failure modes such as reactive feedback loops, algorithmic mimicry, and compliance-driven design, and introduces diagnostic tools, including the Mirage Index, to distinguish genuine co-learning from surface-level interaction. The paper calls for a fundamental redesign of AI systems to prioritise ethical, reciprocal, and metacognitive learning relationships.