Are Schools Prepared for the AI Era—or Are They Falling Behind?
International Education Day 2025, observed on 24 January, will focus on the opportunities and challenges of Artificial Intelligence, under the theme “AI and education: Preserving human agency in a world of automation”.
As AI-driven systems become more powerful, the boundaries between human decision-making and machine-driven action often blur. This raises urgent questions: How do we ensure that human agency remains at the core of these advancements? And how can education empower individuals to navigate this rapidly evolving landscape?
The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, is calling on UNESCO 's Member States to invest in training both teachers and students on the responsible use of this technology within the field of education.
Countries remain split between permission and restriction
Artificial intelligence is increasingly present in education. In high-income countries, more than 2/3 of secondary school pupils are already using generative AI tools to produce schoolwork. Teachers are increasingly using AI to prepare their lessons and assess students' work. School guidance and admissions, traditionally guided by teachers and experts, are also increasingly determined by AI.?
AI offers major opportunities for education, provided that its deployment in schools is guided by clear ethical principles. To reach its full potential, this technology must complement the human and social dimensions of learning, rather than replace them. It must become a tool at the service of teachers and pupils, with the main objective being their autonomy and well-being.
Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General
However, education professionals still lack clear guidelines on these practices. Only 10% of schools and universities currently have an official framework for the use of AI, according to a survey of 450 institutions conducted by UNESCO in May 2023. By 2022, only 7 countries had developed AI frameworks or programmes for their teachers, and only 15 included objectives on AI training in their national curricula. At the same time, more and more countries are placing restrictions on the use of new technologies in the classroom. According to new data from UNESCO, almost 40% of countries now have a law or policy banning the use of mobile phones in schools – up from 24% in July 2023.
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A tool that must remain at the service of pupils and teachers
With its cross-cutting mandate for education, sciences, culture and information, UNESCO has been addressing the challenges posed by artificial intelligence for nearly ten years. In November 2021, its Member States adopted the?first global standard-setting framework on the ethics of AI.
In the field of education, UNESCO published the first-ever?Guidance for Generative AI in Education and Research in September 2023, as well as two?AI competency frameworks for?students and?teachers in 2024, addressing both the potential and the risks of AI, as a step towards it’s safe, ethical, inclusive and responsible use. These publications include the suggestion to set an age limit of 13 for the use of AI in the classroom.
UNESCO also points out that the resources allocated by governments towards AI must be in addition to, and not divert from, the financial resources already committed to education, at a time when 1 in 4 primary schools still has no access to electricity and 60% are not connected to the Internet. Essential needs must remain the priority: well-managed and well-equipped schools, with well-trained and well-paid teachers who are motivated by their mission.
Education must equip people of all ages - children, youth and adults?- with the skills and knowledge to understand the potential and risks of AI, and to engage with it in a safe, ethical, inclusive and responsible manner.
Talk AI with me | AI Literacy Consultant | Aula Fellow
2 周To share with your network https://www.globalcenter.ai/news/call-for-papers-ai-in-society-oxford-intersections
?? DeepSeek Just Changed the AI Playbook—What Does This Mean for Education & Cybersecurity? DeepSeek’s R1 model has sent shockwaves through the AI industry—not just for its performance, but for how it was built. ?? No human-labeled reinforcement learning—AI trained AI. ?? Massive cost reduction—a fraction of what US labs spend. ?? Openly shared methods—potentially leveling the playing field for AI research. This raises BIG questions for education, cybersecurity, and AI governance: 1?? Should schools & universities prepare for AI models trained without human feedback? 2?? Will AI-powered cyber threats become even harder to detect as reinforcement learning advances? 3?? How will this impact AI literacy and equity in education? ?? I’m covering this in the next edition of AI Equity & Leadership Digest. If you’re interested in how AI breakthroughs like DeepSeek’s R1 will impact education, leadership, and security, subscribe & let’s explore this together. https://www.dhirubhai.net/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7276656109891854336 ?? What’s your take? Does this shift in AI training change how we should prepare future generations? #AI #DeepSeek #Cybersecurity #AIEquity #EthicalAI #EdTech
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4 周聯合國的教科文組織不知道自己要接受教育的時候，自己的心理學假如有讀完碩博士畢業的話，加上我還有實戰經驗的女人的時候，全世界的叛逆年輕人和戒毒的人都跑來找我治病的時候，說真的馬斯克不是說現在的AI可以植入腦部之後，馬上就可以看懂一本書的時候，自己也很清楚就算沒有AI這個東西，我有實戰經驗讀到的東西一定比應屆畢業生更快的地步，說真的瑞士政府和聯合國開發署不怕有一天，我被這五常國家的其中一個國家總統給挖角過去嗎？你們全世界的領袖都知道自己沒有接受過任何教育的時候，我就有辦法給聯合國很多的建議，更何況我假如有接受教育的時候，聯合國這五常國家的領袖們，上次發現我在跟習近平吵架的時候，自己只是誤會習近平而不小心的講，我跟他鬥的就像千軍萬馬一樣，我也沒想到這個美國的政黨，知道我跟習近平吵贏了就馬上要把我挖角過去，一點也不知道習近平說我誤會他的時候，其實聯合國這五常國家的領袖哪個是簡單的人物呢？自己的心理學我很清楚我這個人才，只要懂的一些事情的皮毛就可以融匯貫通了吧！瑞士政府一點也不知道，萬一德國的梅克爾女士好好培養我的時候，自己也很清楚我跟普京和川普的感覺，我都已經這麽明顯的暗示自己有實戰經驗和其他政治、外交、國防都不差的女人，因為我只要看到這些新型武器的圖紙就知道有多大的威力了吧！自己的機械方面的天份，不用讀工學院就可以看懂機械製圖的女人吧！說真的美國的川普認為一般人有辦法跟習近平談話多年，最近才發覺這個習近平笨蛋，哪裡有辦法找到一個這些都懂的公務員呢？自己還在想著感情上的問題有什麼毛病啊？我已經提醒他只要把我當成一個公務員來培養的話，自己去北京也找不到他的人啊！他自己有辦法訓練一個有很多生死關頭，又有辦法戒毒的女心理諮商師的時候，自己就拜他為師了吧！全世界的領袖不快點搶我這個人才去自己的國家培養真是一個笨蛋，因為我這輩子還從來沒有做過任何背叛別人的事情了吧！你們不覺得自己的政治學，不用讀就已經很像梅克爾女士的脾氣嗎？只可惜沒有任何一個國家發現我在政治和外交，加上地球的保護和暖化和污染很關心嗎？
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4 周There might be rules to govern the use of AI in education sector, but a better approach will be to change the assessment criteria and methods from traditional to something thought without the help of AI. One such method is to have one to one oral examination using soft mediums. Only then we can at least put a break to this hyperspeed of AI in education.
Especialista en Gestión de Bibliotecas. Bibliotecario. Diplomado en Edición de revistas científicas en línea.
1 个月Now that the AI released by China is generating a lot of hype, will UNESCO still encourage schools to embrace the technology? Or should we now adopt a more cautious and critical approach to it? I firmly believe that digital literacy should be part of the curriculum, with an emphasis on critical thinking rather than just the technology itself. Humanity must come first, as critical thinking and empathy are what distinguish us from mere processing tools.