This paper explores the integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) in education through the lens of activity theory. Though extant research on the application of activity theory in information systems research has examined how technology mediates learning generally, it has not examined how activity theory can be applied to explore how GAI tools mediate students' interactions with learning tasks, artefacts, and other social actors within the educational environment. Using an interpretive qualitative case study approach, and drawing on the foundational skills necessary for adopting and utilizing GAI tools and data through 67 participant interviews and observations, our analysis reveals several contradictions, the resolution of which can lead to transformative learning processes in the integration of GAI. The study provides recommendations for how GAI could be integrated into university settings through the lens of activity theory.