GenAI, Emotion, and Computing Education: A Case for Hope in the Face of AI Encroachment

Emotion is rarely at the top of the list when we discuss the role of Generative AI in computer science education and in computing spaces broadly. With AI demonstrating increasingly sophisticated abilities to code, many have adopted a sense of dismay about the prospects for training young computer scientists. In this piece, I concede AI's ability to generate pure code, but insist that more than that is needed for successful computing education. In particular, I explore the essential role of emotions in computing education through three lenses—self-regulation, ethics, and joy—and I argue that we must account for them more deeply when discussing the role of GenAI within computing education. Ultimately, I contend that rather than despairing, we have much to be hopeful about when it comes to humans and computing education.