A new generation of online tools powered by AI poses a significant challenge to education systems around the world. The Global Alliance on AI in Schools, created by the Global Independent Schools Association (GISA), will work to identify best practice on the use of such technologies in schools, and act as a valuable resource for policymakers and education experts.

AI is transforming the fabric of how we live, work, and interact with one another. The last year has seen the release and widespread adoption of online tools that use AI to autonomously generate sophisticated content, ranging from written texts to audio-visual material. These tools have enormous potential for students and teachers. However, they also pose a significant challenge to education systems, which are intended to build and test learners’ knowledge and skills at scale. In response, many school systems have already banned their use in the classroom.

"AI is transforming the fabric of how we live, work, and interact with one another."

The response has been complicated by governments’ longstanding failure to create effective frameworks for learning technologies in education systems. A World Bank review of ICT policymaking for education globally has concluded that very few countries have comprehensive strategies for technology in education. Education systems are therefore particularly vulnerable to the rapid leaps now being seen in the capability and widespread availability of AI tools.

Teachers, too, are mostly ill-equipped to use digital technology. A global survey of teachers by the OECD, a bloc of mostly high-income countries, found that just 56% had received formal training in ICT for teaching – including just 63% in the USA.³ The lack of training about the role of technology in the classroom, combined with a lack of a consistent approach from policymakers, means that teachers around the world would benefit from evidence and best-practice that could show them how to make the most of these new tools.

But teachers could also show vital leadership on this issue. Around the world, many teachers have been first-adopters of the latest generation of digital technology and have already integrated it into their pedagogy and lesson planning. The way these teachers use this technology could help inform policymakers and experts as they consider how education systems should adapt at scale.

The Global Alliance on AI in Schools brings together expert teachers and school leaders from around the world to discuss and make recommendations on AI and learning technologies in schools. To inform its discussions, the Alliance will also hear from technology experts, learning scientists, business leaders and others, who will join the group’s meetings on an ad-hoc basis to share their thinking on specific topics.