UNESCO puts AI in education to the test as teachers and governments face new demands

Participants explored how accessible, inclusive AI tools could open up learning opportunities for people with disabilities and give young people more freedom to tackle problems in their own communities.

Teachers need time and training to understand the tools entering their classrooms, governments need a stronger say in how those tools are built, and education systems need evidence that the technology actually helps people learn. Those concerns shaped a Strategy Lab held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 11 September during Digital Learning Week 2026. More than 200 policymakers, education partners and practitioners joined UNESCO's Digital Transformation Collaborative (DTC), the technological subgroup of its Global Education Coalition, to examine whether its Six Pillars Framework could keep pace with AI's rapid development.

The promise reaches beyond the classroom

Participants explored how accessible, inclusive AI tools could open up learning opportunities for people with disabilities and give young people more freedom to tackle problems in their own communities. Examples ranged from climate action and Indigenous language preservation to protecting natural resources in the Amazon.

These possibilities brought a practical concern into focus: whether teachers have the skills and support to use AI responsibly, question its outputs and help students develop the same judgement. Their changing role calls for more than instructions on operating a platform; it requires training that connects ethical questions with everyday classroom decisions.

The discussion placed ethical governance and safety at the centre of that work. Access remains important, but having a tool available says little about its quality, whose interests it serves or whether a school has the capacity to use it well. Participants asked who owns AI systems, who uses them and who benefits from their growing presence in education.

Six pillars face a changing reality

Six parallel groups examined the DTC framework, each taking one pillar and considering what AI changes in practice.

Content and solutions: Participants questioned the quality and openness of AI-powered platforms and how closely they fit the curriculum. Assessment, certification and meaningful involvement from parents and caregivers were part of the discussion, reflecting the number of people affected by decisions about classroom technology.

Capacity and culture: The group explored the skills, competencies and mindsets people will need as AI develops. Critical thinking and community participation received particular attention, with education communities having a role in shaping how the technology is used.

Connectivity and infrastructure: The conversation went beyond internet connections and access to devices. Participants called for AI to become a capability across the education system, supported by collaboration, open data and models, and shared approaches that could bring economies of scale across schools.

Cost and sustainability: Device durability raised questions about how schools can sustain their investments. Participants also considered the risk of AI widening existing inequalities and the importance of teaching students about sustainability itself.

Data and evidence: This group asked whether the data behind AI systems is reliable, mapped, traceable and transparent. The questions extended to results: does AI improve learning and encourage creativity, or does it simply make tasks faster? Accountability matters when the promised benefits fail to appear.

Coordination and leadership: Participants called for stronger government ownership and involvement in the research and design of AI tools. They also pressed for greater coherence across an education sector dealing with multiple technology providers whose competing products can pull institutions in different directions.

The next test is putting the discussion to work

The Strategy Lab's findings will feed directly into the DTC's AI workstream, helping shape revisions to the Six Pillars Framework and its maturity assessment questionnaire, which supports assessments of digital transformation readiness.

The discussions will continue at a dedicated session during the Global Education Coalition's annual meeting in March 2027. The work ahead involves turning broad commitments into decisions about teacher support, public oversight, spending and evidence of learning.

Across the lab, participants returned to the demands AI places on the people and institutions expected to govern it. Education systems need the capacity to judge what they are adopting, protect those using it and keep learning at the centre as the technology changes.