UNESCO’s Director-General Audrey Azoulay has announced that International Education Day 2025, set for Jan. 24, will focus on the potential and challenges of AI in education. She is urging member states to prioritize training educators and learners in the ethical and responsible use of AI technologies in educational settings.
“AI can bring tremendous benefits to education, but its implementation adheres to strong ethical guidelines,” Azoulay noted. “To truly make an impact, AI should complement the social and human aspects of learning, not replace them. The primary goal must be to empower students and teachers, fostering their well-being and independence.”
UNESCO hopes to start a global dialogue about the integration of AI in education by focusing this year’s event on the technology. Planned activities include conferences in New York and Paris and a webinar to broaden participation.
According to UNESCO, AI’s role in education is rapidly expanding. More than two-thirds of secondary students in higher-income nations already use generative AI for assignments, and educators are using AI to develop lesson plans and assess student performance. Even procedures that were previously handled by educators and specialists, like career guidance and school admissions, are now influenced by AI systems.
However, despite these developments, many educators and institutions lack clear policies to guide the use of AI; according to a 2023 UNESCO survey of 450 universities and schools, only 10% had formal frameworks for AI.
As of 2022, only seven countries had implemented AI-specific programs or guidelines for teachers, and only fifteen nations had integrated AI training into their curricula. On the flip side, restrictions on technology use are growing; for example, nearly 40% of nations now prohibit phones in schools, a significant increase from 24% in mid-2023.
UNESCO has been tackling issues on AI in the fields of education, research, information, and culture for almost a decade. The first worldwide AI ethical rules were adopted by member states in 2021. More recently, UNESCO released its Guidance for Generative AI in Research and Education in 2023, followed by two artificial intelligence competency frameworks in 2024.
These tools, which include suggestions like restricting AI use in classrooms to pupils 13 years of age and below, are meant to encourage the safe, inclusive, and ethical use of AI in education.
Additionally, UNESCO emphasizes that government investments in AI must not come at the expense of existing education budgets. Instead, necessities must continue to be given top priority, as 60% of elementary schools lack internet connection and 25% lack electricity.
The fact that UNESCO is focusing its efforts during this year’s Education Day on disseminating information about the role that AI can play in education shows that there is huge potential for the different AI solutions that entities like Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) are bringing to market at this time when artificial intelligence promises to disrupt many industries.
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