Natural intelligence, not artificial: a Confucian reframing of generative AI in higher education

This paper proposes a Confucian reframing of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) as natural intelligence – technology that emerges from and remains embedded within human creativity, culture, and moral relationships. Drawing on Confucian concepts such as shengsheng (creative transformation), ren (co-humanity), and xue yi cheng ren (learning to become human), it challenges Western dualisms that separate human and machine, natural and artificial, and argues that GenAI should be understood as an extension of human creativity operating within human-guided ethical judgment and responsibility. The paper explores implications for pedagogy, curriculum, and institutional policy, advocating for relational ethics, moral cultivation, and value-based governance. While rooted in Confucian thought, this approach is presented as a generative ethical lens that can be adapted and brought into dialogue with other traditions to inform global conversations on AI in education.