What we’re reading and hearing about AI in education
Waypoints and signals
No.1 ⼁What we’re hearing and reading about AI in education
Since launching the AI Observatory, we’ve been in listening mode — meeting and discussing AI with people across the world. These conversations have surfaced key trends, tensions, and paradoxes that shape how AI is evolving in different contexts.
Signal spotting
Some of the paradoxes that are coming up:
AI is evolving at breakneck speed… and yet, not fast enough, with many fearing being left behind. AI breakthroughs are happening faster than people can adapt. But when it comes to meaningful adoption, things feel slow.
Everything feels new, but we’ve also been here before. AI is being described as a once-in-a-generation breakthrough, a paradigm shift, even a new industrial revolution. But many of the debates and challenges echo conversations we’ve had about EdTech in general.
Some people feel like they’re chasing their tails, while others are confidently on the front foot. Many professionals feel they are constantly catching up, overwhelmed by the speed at which AI tools and knowledge are evolving.
We’ll regret not seizing this opportunity…or not paying enough attention to the risks. The optimism — about how AI can lower costs, expand access, and enable personalised learning — is balanced out by the very real concerns about equity, pedagogy, and unintended consequences.
So, what’s next?
We’ll be sharing what we’re seeing, thinking, and questioning over the next few weeks. For now, here are some thought-provoking reads and resources that have come up in recent conversations:
- Technological advancements – particularly in open-source AI – are reducing development costs. This is helping lower-income regions access more affordable learning tools, rather than relying on expensive proprietary models. AI-for-Education Benchmark Leaderboard is tracking cost vs. performance frontiers in open-source AI learning tools.
- From AI-powered tutoring to education chatbots, AI is being embedded into education systems faster than policies can keep up. In Liberia, for example, the Ministry of Education has endorsed the WASSCElab platform, which uses AI for personalized learning.
- A recent Nature article explores what AI means for teaching and learning.
- This Harvard study suggests over-reliance on AI could reduce critical thinking skills.
- A conversation between Neil Selwyn & Dragan Gasevic explores the divide between AI EdTech developers and critical education scholars.
- This MIT article explores generative AI’s environmental impact which is often overlooked.
This is just the start of the AI Observatory. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be:
- Publishing opinion pieces from experts in the field.
- Sharing more insights from these conversations.
- Hosting a webinar to dive deeper into AI’s role in education.
We’d love to hear from you! What’s been shaping your thinking on AI? Share your thoughts (and reading recommendations) with us on LinkedIn.
