AI Observatory: Waypoints & Signals – Issue 4
This week on Waypoint Wednesday, we’re diving into the crucial role of teachers as AI continues to reshape education. What does it mean to be a teacher-in-the-loop, and indeed, a teacher-in-the-lead when it comes to AI?
As AI tools advance and proliferate, the need for teachers to integrate AND interrogate them effectively becomes even more pressing. However, teacher preparedness is a challenge in many regions, and there are notable efforts being made to bridge this gap, including those led by technology giants like Microsoft and Google. Below, we break down the emerging trends across three different progressions of change, illustrating how AI is evolving in education and what it means for teachers.
Upgrade: early integration into existing systems.
- Teacher Training Initiatives: Countries like Brazil and Indonesia are rolling out training programs to help teachers integrate AI into their existing pedagogical practices. Brazil offers a free course to train elementary school teachers on the ethical and responsible use of AI [1], while Indonesia is launching AI-focused training in collaboration with Google and YouTube to empower teachers with AI skills [2].
- Administrative Efficiency: In Vietnam, AI is being used to automate administrative tasks, freeing up more time for teachers to focus on direct student engagement [3]. These efforts aim to enhance current systems rather than overhaul them completely, providing teachers with tools to increase efficiency. But these potential benefits also come with new challenges. Vu Minh Duc, Head of the Teachers and Education Managers Department at Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training, said that along with opportunities in personalized learning, interaction, teaching support, assessment and management, AI poses new ethical, legal, and equity challenges in tech access.
[1] Catraca Livre, 11 May 2025, [2] Tempo Media, 09 May 2025 [3] VietNamNet News, 08 May 2025
Disrupt: scaling and change is embedded in education systems.
- AI-Centric Education Institutes: India is opening its first AI-focused institute, the Symbiosis Artificial Intelligence Institute (SAII), which could pave the way for specialized AI education, potentially challenging the traditional university model [4].
- AI as a Core Subject: In UAE, AI is becoming a mandatory subject from kindergarten through grade 12, marking a significant shift from traditional subject offerings [5]. Similar comprehensive curriculum integrations are also planned in places like Argentina’s Misiones province, fundamentally reshaping what foundational education looks like[6].
- Decentralized Learning Pathways: Indonesia’s Mappi AI Hub program aims to build an AI-based education ecosystem in the remote region of South Papua, potentially disrupting the reliance on urban education centers and creating more localized learning opportunities [7].
- AI-Powered Personalized Learning: Companies like Xueersi in China are developing AI learning machines that offer 1-to-1 AI teaching, providing highly individualized, scalable support that challenges traditional student-teacher interaction models [8]
[4] Hindustan Times, 8 May 2025, [5] The National (State Newspaper), 4 May 2025, [6] MisionesOnline, 09 May 2025 [7] Antara News, 09 May 2025 [8] 凤凰网(凤凰新媒体), 07 May 2025
Transform: education is designed for a world where AI is a part of life.
- Hyper-Personalized Education: Looking ahead, AI has the potential to provide deeply personalized learning experiences, with Elon Musk envisioning a future where AI acts as a personal tutor for every student, much like having “Einstein as a teacher for each child” [10]. This would revolutionize the way students learn, making education truly adaptive to each individual’s needs.
- AI-Driven Skill Development: The World Economic Forum discusses how “agentic AI” could play a transformative role in workforce development, helping to develop new paradigms for skill-building and lifelong learning that are essential for rapidly changing job markets, particularly in LMICs [11][12].
- Addressing Global Inequities: The UNDP suggests that AI could “reignite development” by addressing long-standing issues like linguistic inequality in education, especially by overcoming data scarcity for low-resource languages. This transformation would broaden access to education and knowledge on a global scale, offering profound benefits for equitable learning [13][14].
[10] Euro News, 23 May 2024, [11] World Economic Forum, 09 May 2025 [12] Economic Times, 08 May 2025 [13] Asian News International (ANI), 06 May 2025 [14] arXiv: AI, 08 May 2025
As AI continues to enhance current systems, disrupt traditional structures, and transform education into something more personalised and accessible, it’s clear that teacher preparedness and involvement are critical for these advancements to succeed. By meaningfully engaging teachers in shaping AI integration—from policy to practice—we can unlock more effective, equitable approaches that not only improve learning outcomes but also support teacher well-being. Teachers are central to the future of learning in the age of AI, and their insights and involvement will be the foundation for ensuring that AI truly enhances education for all. Through ongoing collaboration and teacher-in-the-loop initiatives, we can ensure that AI serves as a tool for educators, not a replacement, driving more impactful and inclusive learning experiences.
We’d love to hear from you! What’s been shaping your thinking on AI? Drop your thoughts (and reading recommendations) over on LinkedIn.
