AI and Education: A Guidance for Policy-makers

Overview

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to address some of the biggest challenges in education today, innovate teaching and learning practices, and ultimately accelerate the progress towards SDG 4. However, these rapid technological developments inevitably bring multiple risks and challenges, which have so far outpaced policy debates and regulatory frameworks.

This publication offers guidance for policy-makers on how best to leverage the opportunities and address the risks, presented by the growing connection between AI and education.

It starts with the essentials of AI: definitions, techniques and technologies. It continues with a detailed analysis of the emerging trends and implications of AI for teaching and learning, including how we can ensure the ethical, inclusive and equitable use of AI in education, how education can prepare humans to live and work with AI, and how AI can be applied to enhance education. It finally introduces the challenges of harnessing AI to achieve SDG 4 and offers concrete actionable recommendations for policy-makers to plan policies and programmes for local contexts.

Policy Recommendations

1. Define a system-wide vision and strategic priorities
2. Adopt a humanistic approach as an overarching principle for AI and education policies
3. Mobilize interdisciplinary planning and inter-sectoral governance
4. Set out policies and regulations for equitable, inclusive, and ethical use of AI
5.  Explore master plans for using AI in education management, teaching, learning, and assessment
6. Test and scale up evidence-based avenues of applying AI in learning
7. Foster innovations and incubate the local development of AI technologies and tools