The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and immersive technologies in higher education has intensified critical questions about the relationship between pedagogy, technology, and human values. This paper argues that meaningful digital transformation requires a reorientation towards what precedes and exceeds technology: trust, human connection, epistemic integrity, and authentic engagement. It aligns with the postdigital perspective advanced by Tim Fawns, which frames education as an entangled interplay of social, material, and technological practices rather than a technologically driven domain.

Focusing on agentic artificial intelligence—systems capable of autonomous decision-making, adaptive learning, and generative outputs—we examine implications for authorship, learner agency, assessment, and academic identity. While such systems enable personalisation and scale, they also risk reinforcing instrumental approaches that privilege efficiency over meaningful learning if not grounded in robust pedagogy.

Drawing on practice-based work embedding virtual reality within higher education, particularly aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, we demonstrate how immersive technologies can support experiential, values-driven learning. Here, pedagogy is positioned as the critical driver, with technology functioning as an enabling layer that amplifies engagement, empathy, and global awareness. Examples from XR design, active pedagogy, and digital badge initiatives illustrate how socially relevant, participatory learning can be realised.

We propose a values-led framework centred on trust, human relationships, knowledge co-creation, playfulness, engagement, and “unconditional love,” reframed as an ethic of care and inclusion. We argue that the central challenge is not technological integration, but the development of reflexive, context-sensitive pedagogies that acknowledge the entanglement of human and non-human actors.

We conclude with key provocations: How is trust enacted in AI-mediated learning? What constitutes authentic assessment when knowledge is co-produced with intelligent systems? And how can higher education sustain curiosity, creativity, and joy in an increasingly automated landscape?