AI Observatory: Waypoints & Signals – Issue 11
Signals of the week: Homegrown tools, shared metrics, and rethinking quality
Each week, we spotlight signals of change in AI and education – and consider what they might mean for the future of learning in the Global South. Using the Three Horizons framework, we track what’s beginning to upgrade existing systems, what may soon disrupt the status quo, and what could transform learning in the age of AI.
Upgrade: Incremental change within the system
Indonesian teacher builds AI tool for geography lessons
In Indonesia, high school teacher M. Rifky Abu Zamroh created an AI learning assistant designed specifically for geography lessons. While the impact on learning isn’t yet clear, the tools have gained traction across three provinces and drawn national interest. (Source: Tribun Jateng, 13 July 2025)
Why this matters now… while most AI tools used in Global South classrooms are built far from the contexts they’re used in, this story shows how homegrown innovation can bubble up from the classroom – with educators shaping AI to fit around their own curricula and realities.
Disrupt: Innovations challenge the status quo
Towards a common yard-stick for chatbot impact
Researchers from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, propose a shared framework for evaluating GenAI chatbots in education. Their proposal aims to bring coherence to a field where studies often use varying, hard-to-compare methods. (Source: Qiu et al., 2025, A Systematic Approach to Evaluate the Use of Chatbots in Educational Contexts: Learning Gains, Engagements and Perceptions)
Watch for… researchers and implementers testing, adopting or adapting this, or similar, frameworks as a step toward more coherent, cumulative insight in AI x learning research.
Transform: New visions of the future
Beyond test scores: tracking what learners can do and become
With a focus on India and Global South contexts, Observer Research Foundation Senior Fellow Arpan Tulsyan argues for redefining “quality education” through a capability lens: focusing on what learners are actually able to do and become with what they learn, rather than how much they know. (Source: ORF, 10 July 2025)
What if… amidst rapid global transformations like the use of AI, a Capability Approach becomes the dominant lens for education reform over the next decade – reshaping not just what systems measure, but what they imagine learning is for?
We’d love to hear from you! What’s been shaping your thinking on AI? Drop your thoughts (and reading recommendations) in the comments. Explore more from EdTech Hub’s AI Observatory.
EdTech Hub’s AI Observatory is made possible with the support of the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
