AI In Education

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly present in education, educators, administrators, and policymakers find themselves at a critical crossroads. The promises of AI in education are wide-ranging–personalized learning at scale, reduced teacher workload, and democratized access to knowledge. Yet beneath these promises lie complex challenges that could either bridge or widen educational divides. This collection of articles from leading educators and researchers, supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation in partnership with Etika Insights, offers a comprehensive examination of AI’s role in education, highlighting both opportunities and risks while emphasizing the importance of responsible implementation.

Key themes emerge across the collection:

1. The need for open, transparent AI systems that are built with, not just for, educators and learners,
2. The importance of maintaining human relationships and agency in learning while leveraging AI’s capabilities,
3. The risks of AI further concentrating access to quality education and the need for intentional design to promote inclusion,
4. The crucial role of developing critical AI literacy among educators and students,
5. Strategies for realizing the advantages of open educational resources and practices with responsible applications of AI.

As education stands at this technological crossroads, these articles provide valuable guidance for navigating the path forward. They suggest that success lies not in wholesale adoption or rejection of AI, but in thoughtful implementation that prioritizes educational values, equity, and human relationships. The future of AI in education will be determined not by the technology itself, but by how we choose to shape and use it in service of learning.

• “Responsible AI in Education: The Case for Open AI” by Richard Baraniuk, OpenStax, advocates for AI tools designed to support teachers rather than replace them, enabling educators to focus on mentorship while technology handles routine tasks. He argues that building AI on open, equitable foundations is essential to prevent amplifying existing inequalities.
• “Copyright, licensing, and Open Source AI” by Anne-Marie Scott, Open Source Initiative, explores the tension between AI training methods and academic integrity, questioning whether we can ethically create educational resources using AI trained on copyrighted materials. She advocates for an education-focused AI commons governed by educators rather than corporations.
• “Imagining Artificial Intelligence As A Public Good for K-12 Learning” by Beth Rabbitt, The Learning Accelerator, challenges us to shape AI as a public resource rather than accepting a future dictated by private interests. Her framework offers a blueprint for developing open public models, building transparent infrastructure, and removing access barriers to ensure AI serves all students equitably.
• “The AI Magnifying Mirror” by Jutta Treviranus, Inclusive Design Research Centre, warns that current AI systems, powered by statistical reasoning, risk amplifying existing inequities and discoursing diversity. Her piece serves as a vital reminder that AI’s promise of personalized learning must be balanced against its potential to enforce normalization and eliminate valuable differences among learners.
• “Approaches to Designing AI” by Sarah Johnson, The Teaching Lab emphasizes the importance of co-creating AI tools with teachers and students rather than for them, sharing valuable lessons from real-world implementations to develop students’ writing skills. Her team’s focus on building tools that are both effective and usable offers concrete guidance for educators and developers alike.
• “4 Checkpoints For Integrating AI In K-12 Education” by Devin Vodicka, Learner-Centered Collaborative, provides a structured approach to AI implementation based on successful partnerships with school districts. His clear framework - from understanding AI basics to building custom tools - offers practical guidance for educators navigating this new territory.
• “Navigating AI in Open and Higher Education” by Maha Bali, Equity Unbound / American University Cairo, advocates for institutionally supported development of AI literacies rather than expecting overworked teachers to learn independently. She emphasizes maintaining human agency and transparency while offering practical applications that preserve educational values.
• “A Shiny Pony in Higher Ed” by Jess Mitchell, Inclusive Design Research Centre, depicts AI as an untamed force in education. Mitchell’s piece serves as a sobering reminder that AI, while powerful, lacks understanding, learning, and moral judgment. Her call for institutions to focus on people rather than profit or technology provides a fitting conclusion to this comprehensive examination of AI in education.
• “Procurement of AI tools in K-12 and Higher Education” by Patti Ruiz and Sierra Noakes, Digital Promise, offer perspectives about how leaders can make intentional decisions about the adoption, implementation, and evaluation of AI tools, policies, and practices. They encourage leaders to have open conversations with educators to develop collaborative evaluation systems and practices and offer guidance for streamlining AI adoption and procurement.

This collection serves as both a caution and a roadmap. It warns against uncritical adoption of AI tools while providing practical frameworks for responsible implementation for the public good. As AI continues to evolve and integrate into educational settings, these insights will become increasingly valuable for educators, administrators, policymakers, and students working to ensure that AI serves as a tool for educational advancement that benefits the diversity of learners in our schools, rather than a force for widening existing divides.

The challenge ahead is clear: we must harness AI’s potential while protecting the essentially human aspects of education. This requires ongoing dialogue, careful policymaking, and a commitment to equity and inclusion. As these articles demonstrate, the path forward involves not just technological innovation, but also a renewed commitment to educational values and human relationships in learning.