By Editorial Staff
Education, for thousands of years, has used one of humanity’s most enduring traditions: one person imparting knowledge to another. From handwritten manuscripts to Gutenberg’s printing press, every major technological invention has restructured how societies learn. Today, AI represents the latest and perhaps the most profound disruption yet—not only because machines can synthesize vast amounts of information, but because they can now generate, explain, and interact with knowledge in ways once reserved for humans.
As AI penetrates classrooms, universities, and homes; the fundamental questions confronting education are no longer theoretical. If a machine can produce essays, solve complex mathematical problems, and provide personalized explanations within seconds, what does it mean to learn? What role will teachers fulfill? And how can societies assure that AI reinforces human intelligence rather than undermines it?
According to UNESCO, the future of AI in education will not be determined by technology alone, but by choices that humanity adopts. The challenge is not simply whether to embrace or reject AI—it is how to transform it into a tool which expands opportunity, safeguards human dignity, and keeps education focused on learners and educators who give it meaning.
From the printing press to ChatGPT: the new revolution redesigning education
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO] published a 24 September 2025 article, last updated on 26 September 2025, titled “AI and the future of education: disruptions, dilemmas and directions”. This piece of writing is built on a talk delivered— by Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education— at Digital Learning Week on 2 September 2025 in Paris, France.
In this account, the UNESCO says “The history of education is a history of disruption. Five thousand years ago, writing transformed memory into text. Six hundred years ago, Gutenberg’s printing press democratized knowledge. Three years ago, ChatGPT put generative AI in the hands of hundreds of millions.
For the first time in history, technology is not silent. It speaks back. For generations, the image of the classroom looked the same: a teacher in front of a chalkboard, students sitting in rows, reading from textbooks. One of humanity’s oldest rituals – the slow passing of knowledge from one person to another.”
This UN agency adds “That ritual is now being rewritten. Not by a new curriculum. Not by a global treaty. But by a new actor. One that never sleeps, never breathes, never stops ingesting information. Artificial intelligence is the latest in a series of technological innovations that has changed how we learn, work, and communicate. It is now altering the way knowledge is accessed and created, and already more than a billion people use AI chatbots regularly. In education, this forces us to ask fundamental questions.”
The questions are these: Do we still need classrooms, teachers, textbooks? If an AI system can write a PhD-level thesis in minutes and win international math competitions, what does it mean to be a student?
The UNESCO underscores “That is the magnitude of the disruption before us. At UNESCO, we are reflecting on three dimensions of this transformation: the disruptions AI is creating in education, the dilemmas these disruptions raise, and the directions we must chart together. These themes are explored in depth in UNESCO’s recent book, AI and the Future of Education: Disruptions, Dilemmas and Directions, which gathers global evidence, case studies, and policy recommendations.”
Disruptions
The UNESCO explains how AI is reshaping classrooms. “We hear a lot of rhetoric about how AI is disrupting education. What do these disruptions look like in practice? First, AI as tutor. Chat-based assistants and adaptive platforms now provide explanations, practice, and feedback, often in local languages and even through low-bandwidth channels.
In some contexts, this is the first time a learner has had access to one-on-one support. Studies show that, when designed to encourage reasoning, these tools can improve outcomes. But when they simply hand out answers, students may learn less, not more. The difference lies in how the technology is used and supported.”
AI is infiltrating higher learning institutions significantly. “Second, AI as co-professor. Across universities, it is already being used for research, writing, coding feedback, and assessment. A recent survey of the UNESCO Chairs network found that nine in ten respondents use AI in their professional work, most often for writing and synthesis. At the same time, many expressed uncertainty about its pedagogical value and its implications for integrity. The opportunity is to free time for higher-value teaching. The risk is a drift toward automation,” explains the UNESCO.
AI isn’t confined to that. According to the latter source, “Third, AI as companion. Many young people now turn to chatbots for advice, support, or late-night conversations. Surveys in high-income countries suggest that a majority of teenagers have already experimented with AI companions, and some use them regularly for serious conversations. There is evidence that such tools can reduce stress and anxiety, but they also raise concerns about privacy, dependency, and the substitution of human relationships.”
On this aspect of AI disruptions in the education sector, the UNESCO concludes with these words. “Across these roles—tutor, co-professor, and companion—AI can expand access and support, but it can also deepen inequality, flatten learning, and erode trust if not guided carefully. Whether this disruption strengthens education or undermines it will depend on the choices we make.”
Dilemmas and directions
The UNESCO explains “Dilemmas: the hard choices being faced. Every disruption brings dilemmas. Should a school principal allow AI in classrooms – or restrict it to protect students’ cognitive development? Should a minister of education invest in AI platforms that could reach millions – or in hiring the 44 million additional teachers the world still needs?
Should a head of government approve a new AI data centre that promises jobs – or consider the consumption of massive amounts of water and electricity? None of these are simple yes-or-no choices. These demand foresight and public debate.”
As for directions, this international body states “Directions: charting a human-centered path. But dilemmas are not dead ends. They are signposts to new directions. At UNESCO’s Digital Learning Week, ministers affirmed a shared vision that AI in education must be human-centered, equitable, safe, and ethical.
From that dialogue, five priorities emerged. First: confronting the AI divide. The digital divide is rapidly becoming an AI divide. Without electricity, meaningful connectivity and affordable devices, millions will be left behind. That is why sustainable digital infrastructure must be our first priority.”
“Second: safety and ethics are non-negotiable. Human rights and dignity must come first. We need clear frameworks so that AI tools in schools are transparent, accountable, and free from bias. This is why UNESCO adopted the world’s first global Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, and why we issued Guidance on generative AI in education and research.”
The UNESCO emphasizes upon teachers’ irreplaceability, cultural relevance and a global challenge. “Third: teachers are irreplaceable. As the Santiago Consensus adopted at the World Summit on Teachers underlined: AI must support, not replace, educators. This means investing in professional development and skills. This is the principle behind UNESCO’s AI Competency Frameworks for teachers and students, already translated into multiple languages.
Fourth: localization and cultural relevance. AI must work for all, and all means all. AI must reflect the diversity of our societies, languages, and communities. That means building and adapting models locally and training them on culturally diverse and representative datasets. Fifth: global solidarity and shared standards. No country can navigate this transition alone. International cooperation is essential to set standards, develop curricula, and exchange knowledge on emerging pedagogies.”
Beyond the AI debate: why the future of education lies between promise and peril
The UNESCO indicates that as artificial intelligence transforms classrooms around the world, one reality is becoming increasingly clear: its influence on education defies black-and-white thinking. “Moving beyond binary thinking. In debates on AI and education, we often hear extremes. Either AI will sharpen skills or dull them. Either it will replace teachers or empower them. Either it will save education or destroy it. The truth lies somewhere in between. And like most big disruptions, the impact of AI on education will be complex, contradictory, and unfolding all at once.
It will be determined in parliamentary debates and corporate labs, but also in classrooms, villages, and communities. Depending on the choices we make today, the future of AI in education will be marked by expanded opportunity or by deepened inequality. What we need – and what UNESCO has worked for 80 years to promote – is imagination, courage, ambition, and above all, collective action.”
Meanwhile, The Guardian’s 15 October 2025 story headlined “Pupils fear AI is eroding their ability to study, research finds” reads “One in four students say AI ‘makes it too easy’ for them to find answers. Pupils fear that using artificial intelligence is eroding their ability to study, with many complaining it makes schoolwork “too easy” and others saying it limits their creativity and stops them learning new skills, according to new research.
The report on the use of AI in UK schools, commissioned by Oxford University Press (OUP), found that just 2% of students aged between 13 and 18 said they did not use AI for their schoolwork, while 80% said they regularly used it. Despite AI’s popularity, 62% of the students said it has had a negative impact on their skills and development at school, while one in four of the students agreed that AI ‘it too easy for me to find the answers without doing the work myself’. A further 12% said AI ‘limits my creative thinking’ while similar numbers said they were less likely to solve problems or write creatively.”
The story adds “Nearly half of the 2,000 students surveyed by OUP said they were worried their classmates were ‘secretly using AI’ for schoolwork without their teachers being able to spot it. Many reported that they wanted more help from teachers for the appropriate use of AI and in judging whether its output was reliable. OUP said it is launching a new AI education hub aimed at supporting teachers.”
“Some of these findings will be very interesting for teachers, especially around how much students are expecting guidance from teachers. We sometimes think there is a technological generational divide, and yet they are still looking at their teachers for guidance in how to use this technology productively, and I find that very positive.”
Alexandra Tomescu serves as OUP’s generative AI and machine learning product specialist. He said that the study featured among the first to examine how young people in the UK were incorporating AI into their education. “The thing I find fascinating is how sophisticated the answers are. For 60% of students to say they are concerned that AI tools encourage copying rather than doing original work, that’s a very deep understanding of what your schoolwork is meant to help you do, and what the pitfalls and benefits are associated with this technology.
Young people who are using this technology actually have a pretty sophisticated, quite mature understanding of what the technology does in relation to their schoolwork, which is fascinating because we don’t give young people enough credit when it comes to using technology in an educational space, unaided, in this way.”
According to The Guardian, OUP’s findings follow empirical studies on the use of AI in education. It adds that one published last year by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) assessed brain electrical activity during essay writing in students employing large language models (LLM) such as ChatGPT, and inferred “These results raise concerns about the long-term educational implications of LLM reliance and underscore the need for deeper inquiry into AI’s role in learning.”
Tomescu, talking about OUP’s findings, stated “Some of these findings will be very interesting for teachers, especially around how much students are expecting guidance from teachers. We sometimes think there is a technological generational divide, and yet they are still looking at their teachers for guidance in how to use this technology productively, and I find that very positive.”
In fact, the UNESCO conveys some optimism in terms of AI in education. This UN organ’s point matches that of McKinsey Global Institute on humans and employment, as highlighted in this article: Will AI eventually perform every economically valuable human task? McKinsey and Elon Musk offer starkly different answers.