As pupils in part of the world return to school after the summer break, UNESCO calls on governments to implement appropriate regulations and teacher training to ensure a human-centered approach to using Generative AI in education.

 To this end, UNESCO published the first-ever global Guidance on Generative AI in Education and Research, designed to address the disruptions caused by Generative AI technologies.

According to a UNESCO report, Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General, stated that Generative AI can be a tremendous opportunity for human development but can also cause harm and prejudice. It cannot be integrated into education without public engagement and the necessary safeguards and regulations from governments. She believes that this guidance will aid policymakers and teachers in best navigating the potential of AI for the primary interest of learners.

The guidance states seven key steps for governments to take to regulate Generative AI and establish policy frameworks for its ethical use in education and research, including adopting global, regional or national data protection and private standards. 

UNESCO has set an age limit of 13 for using AI tools in the classroom and calls for teacher training.

The guidance was released at UNESCO headquarters during UNESCO’s Digital Learning Week on 7th September 2023.

The speakers of the event included Stuart Russel, Professor of Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley, USA; Yoshua Bengio, Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Operations Research at the Université of Montreal and the Founder and Scientific Director of Mila – Québec Artificial Intelligence Institute, 2018 A.M; Turing Award laureate, Yann LeCun, Vice President and Chief AI Scientist at Meta; and Daniel Andler, Mathematician and Philosopher, Member of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques and Professor Emeritus, Sorbonne Université, France.

Find the full report here.