This article explores the transformative impact of generative AI (GenAI) on teaching and teacher education, emphasizing the need for a dual perspective that addresses both immediate and long-term implications. GenAI tools, such as ChatGPT, DALL-E, and Stable Diffusion, have rapidly gained popularity, changing the landscape of education and research. These tools challenge traditional notions of creativity and learning, requiring educators to rethink how they design learning experiences for pre-service and in-service teachers. The article argues for a dual approach: focusing on current practices to equip teachers with the skills to be productive, creative, critical, and ethical users of technology, while also considering long-term sociological and historical trends that shape the socio-techno-cultural matrix of education. GenAI is characterized by its generative and social nature. It is generative in that it produces unique outputs even with the same input, and it exhibits emergent capabilities that designers may not have anticipated. It is also social, as it can appear to engage in social interactions, requiring a shift from a utilitarian view of technology to a relational one. The article highlights the importance of understanding GenAI's true nature, including its protean, opaque, and unstable characteristics, which are common to all digital technologies but amplified in GenAI. The article also discusses the implications of GenAI for educational research, emphasizing the need for responsible innovation and futures thinking. It calls for dialogue among stakeholders to ensure that these technologies benefit learners equitably. As GenAI continues to evolve, educators and researchers must remain vigilant in addressing its challenges and opportunities, ensuring that it enhances, rather than undermines, the quality of education.This article explores the transformative impact of generative AI (GenAI) on teaching and teacher education, emphasizing the need for a dual perspective that addresses both immediate and long-term implications. GenAI tools, such as ChatGPT, DALL-E, and Stable Diffusion, have rapidly gained popularity, changing the landscape of education and research. These tools challenge traditional notions of creativity and learning, requiring educators to rethink how they design learning experiences for pre-service and in-service teachers. The article argues for a dual approach: focusing on current practices to equip teachers with the skills to be productive, creative, critical, and ethical users of technology, while also considering long-term sociological and historical trends that shape the socio-techno-cultural matrix of education. GenAI is characterized by its generative and social nature. It is generative in that it produces unique outputs even with the same input, and it exhibits emergent capabilities that designers may not have anticipated. It is also social, as it can appear to engage in social interactions, requiring a shift from a utilitarian view of technology to a relational one. The article highlights the importance of understanding GenAI's true nature, including its protean, opaque, and unstable characteristics, which are common to all digital technologies but amplified in GenAI. The article also discusses the implications of GenAI for educational research, emphasizing the need for responsible innovation and futures thinking. It calls for dialogue among stakeholders to ensure that these technologies benefit learners equitably. As GenAI continues to evolve, educators and researchers must remain vigilant in addressing its challenges and opportunities, ensuring that it enhances, rather than undermines, the quality of education.