Underexplored impact of AI on fostering reading comprehension and key 21st-century skills including critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration in the Global South

The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education presents unique challenges and significant opportunities for developing contexts, necessitating pedagogical innovations that are context-sensitive and equitable. Employing a qualitative, interpretive case study, the research analysed anonymised user interactions (annotations and comments) from a South African-developed social reading app. Inductive reasoning was central to developing a grounded understanding of readers' nuanced experiences. Interpreted through the integrated lens of Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, Bandura's social cognitive theory, and Gibson's theory of affordances, thematic analysis revealed six key themes: fostering creativity, developing critical thinking, enhancing collaboration, cultivating emotional intelligence, building adaptability, and collaborative inquiry & perspective exchange. Findings demonstrate that the app’s AI-enabled affordances cultivate these skills by facilitating analytical inquiry, imaginative exploration, and knowledge co-construction. While a single case study limits generalisability, this research offers a rich, theoretically grounded model for AI-enhanced learning in developing contexts, providing valuable insights for equitable and effective educational technology design.