Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to address some of the biggest challenges in education today, innovate teaching and learning practices, and accelerate progress towards SDG 4. However, rapid technological developments inevitably bring multiple risks and challenges, which have so far outpaced policy debates and regulatory frameworks.
UNESCO’s Role in AI and Education
UNESCO is committed to supporting Member States to harness the potential of AI technologies for achieving the Education 2030 Agenda, while ensuring that its application in educational contexts is guided by the core principles of inclusion and equity. UNESCO’s mandate calls inherently for a human-centred approach to AI. It aims to shift the conversation to include AI’s role in addressing current inequalities regarding access to knowledge, research and the diversity of cultural expressions and to ensure AI does not widen the technological divides within and between countries.
The Promise of “AI for All”
The promise of “AI for all” must be that everyone can take advantage of the technological revolution under way and access its fruits, notably in terms of innovation and knowledge. Furthermore, UNESCO has developed within the framework of the Beijing Consensus a publication aimed at fostering the readiness of education policy-makers in artificial intelligence. This publication, Artificial Intelligence and Education: Guidance for Policy-makers, will be of interest to practitioners and professionals in the policy-making and education communities. It aims to generate a shared understanding of the opportunities and challenges that AI offers for education, as well as its implications for the core competencies needed in the AI era.
How AI Can Transform Education for Students and Teachers
Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) could transform education systems and make them more equitable. It can accelerate the long overdue transformation of education systems towards inclusive learning that will prepare young people to thrive and shape a better future. At the same time, teachers can use these technologies to enhance their teaching practice and professional experience.
The Importance of Developing Skills Uniquely Human
Dialogue on the future of work and education has long emphasized the importance of developing skills and values that are uniquely human and less likely to be replaced by technology. The rise of ChatGPT is yet another proof point. Most students and teachers agree that ChatGPT is “just another example of why we can’t keep doing things the old way for schools in the modern world”.
How AI Tools Can Help Educators and Students
Our hope is that the advent of AI will spur educators, students, parents, and policy-makers to come together to consider what skills our students really need to navigate uncertainty, solve complex challenges and shape meaningful futures in a changing economy. This means embracing the challenge to provide learning that fosters agency, awareness, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, connectedness, and well-being. We already see that AI tools deployed by well-trained and well-supported teachers can be invaluable for accelerating progress towards this vision. AI can help foster the skills students will need to navigate and shape the future.
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