2035年人工智能与教育系统：14大趋势与5大未来情景研究报告（英文版）-EdTech Hub

ARTIFICIAL

INTELLIGENCE

ANDEDUCATIONSYSTEMSIN2035

Fourteentrendsandfivescenariosforhowthe

futuremightunfold

AboutInternationalDevelopmentResearchCentre(IDRC)

IDRC

ispartofCanada’sforeignaffairsanddevelopmentefforts.Itchampionsandfundsresearchandinnovationwithinandalongsidedevelopingregionstodriveglobal

change.Weinvestinhigh-qualityresearchindevelopingcountries,shareknowledgewithresearchersand

policymakersforgreateruptakeanduse,andmobilizeourglobalalliancestobuildamoresustainableandinclusiveworld.

AboutEdTechHub

EdTechHub

isaglobalresearchpartnership.Ourgoalistoempowerpeoplebygivingthemtheevidencetheyneedtomakedecisionsabouttechnologyineducation.Our

evidencelibrary

isarepositoryofourlatestresearch,

findings,andwiderliteratureonEdTech.Asaglobal

partnership,weseektomakeourevidenceavailableandaccessibletothosewhoarelookingforEdTechsolutionsworldwide.

Recommendedcitation

Rahman,A.,&Freeman,A.(2025).ArtificialIntelligenceandEducationSystemsin2035:

Fourteentrendsandfivescenariosforhowthefuturemightunfold[TechnicalReport].EdTechHub.

/10.53832/edtechhub.1125

.Availableat

/lib/HF6HI7XM

.Availableunder

CreativeCommonsAttribution4.0

International

.

Acknowledgements

ThisstudywascommissionedbyIDRCunderthe

EmpowerEDprogramme.ManythankstoFlorencioCeballosandMatildaCatherineDipierifortheirinput.WearealsogratefultoTaskeenAdam,Molly

JamiesonEberhardt,DanielPlaut,GitaLuz,andAliceCarterfortheirinput.

Lastly,thisstudywouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutthecontributionoftheexpertswe

interviewed,andwhotookpartintwostrategicforesightworkshops.

Ifyouhaveanyquestions,pleasecontact

hello@

.

What’sinthisdeck

Anintroductiontothisstrategicforesightstudy

Approach&thinkingbehindthework

Whatwe’reseeing:fromclearsignalstoearly

signs:

■

Sevenmorecertaintrends

■

Sevenlesscertaintrends

Fivescenariosforeducationsystemsin2035

ANINTRODUCTIONTOTHIS

STRATEGICFORESIGHTSTUDY

Joinusinimaginingeducationtenyearsfromnow

Anintroductiontothisstrategicforesightstudy

Thenexttenyearswillseebigchallengesforeducationsystemsinlow-andmiddle-incomecountries(LMICs).

Inparticular,IDRCandEdTechHubbelievethattwo

driversofchangewillfundamentallyshiftnational

educationsystems:developmentsinartificialintelligence(AI),andtheincreaseinconflictandcrisesaroundthe

world.

Tosupportgovernmentsandeducationstakeholders,wehaveembarkedonamulti-yearprogrammeofwork,

aimedatansweringthefollowingresearchquestions:

Whatwillbethekeychallengesfacingnational

educationsystemsoverthenexttenyears,witha

specificfocusonartificialintelligenceandeducationinconflictandcrisissettings…

…andhowcangovernmentsinlow-and

middle-incomecountries(LMICs)buildcapacitytosuccessfullyovercomethosechallenges?

TounderstandhowLMICgovernmentscaneffectivelybuildcapacity,weneedtobetterunderstandtheshiftsthatmighttakeplaceineducationsystems.

That’sthepurposeofthisstrategicforesightstudy.Our

goalistoexplorepossiblefuturesforLMICeducation

systems.ThisexplorationwillgoontoshareaprogrammeofresearchintohowgovernmentsinLMICcontextsmightadaptandbuildcapacity,inlightofsuchfutures.

ThisdocumentisPart1ofourstrategicforesightstudy:

ArtificialIntelligenceandEducationSystemsin2035:Fourteentrendsandfivescenariosforhowthefuturemightunfold.

Part2ofourstudy,whichincludestwelvetrendsandfivescenariosfortheimpactofincreasedconflictandcrisisoneducationsystems,

isavailablehere

.

Anintroductiontotrends

Thefirststepinthestrategicforesightstudywasto

identifytrends.Atrendis“ageneraltendencyordirectionofdevelopmentorchangeovertime”

(↑SavetheChildren

UK&SchoolofInternationalFutures,2019

).

Thisdocumentbeginsbycapturing14trendsinAIthatmightaffectthedevelopmentofeducationsystemsovertime.Eachtrendisillustratedbysignalsand/orinsightsfromexpertinterviews.

Afteridentifyingtrends,wecombinedthemtosketch

concrete,tangiblescenariosforeducationsystemsin2035,givendevelopmentinAI.

Ourmethodologyforidentifyingtrends

EdTechHubidentifiedtrendsthroughtwokeymethods:

Developingadatabaseofsignals:Signalsofchangeare“concrete,specificevents,stories,innovations,ornews”

thatmayradicallytransformourfuture.Giventherapid,

recentdevelopmentsinAIatthetimeofwriting,scanningandcapturingsuchsignalsforAIineducationsystems

providedthebestindicatorsofpotentialchange.Adatabaseof60signalswasdeveloped.

One-to-oneexpertinterviews:Tocomplementthedatabaseofsignals,EdTechHubundertook

semi-structuredinterviewswith13keystakeholders,

includingfunders,governmentofficials,andEdTech

startups.EightofthesestakeholderswerebasedinLMICcontexts.Theseinterviewswere60minuteslong,and

gaveparticipantstheopportunitytoarticulatetrendsregardingAIandeducationsystemsfromtheirvantagepoint.Quotesfromtheseinterviewsaresharedinbluecall-outboxesthroughout.

APPROACH&THINKINGBEHINDTHEWORK

Howweexploredpossibilitiestoimaginethefutureofeducation

Weclustertrendsthataremoreandıesscertain

Thisdocumentfocusesonhigh-impacttrends,whichwebelievehavethepotentialtosignificantlychangeeducationsystems.Weclusterhigh-impacttrendsintotwocategories.

Morecertaintrends:Trendsthatarehigh-impactandhavehighercertainty.Thesetrends,reinforcedbyarelativelylargenumberofsignalsandemphasisedfrequentlyininterviews,haveahigherlikelihoodofchangingeducationsystems.

Lesscertaintrends:Trendsthatarehighimpactandhavelowercertainty.Thesetrendswereemphasisedless

frequentlyininterviewsand/orreinforcedbyfewer,weakersignals.Additionally,thetrendsinthissectionoftenhad

opposingorcontradictorycounter-trends.

CERTAINTY

Lesscertaintrends

IMPACT

Morecertaintrends

Threefoundationalinsightsbeforeweexplorethetrends

Priortoexploringthetrends,wehighlightthreeinsights.Thesewereemphasisedwithininterviews(intervieweequotesaregiveninblue),andformimportantcontextaheadofexploringmorespecifictrends.

1⃣ThereisanexplosionofuseofAIbyallplayersintheeducationecosystem.

200MpeopleuseChatGPTona

weeklybasis(

↑Fried,2024

).OneUKsurveyoneducationstated42%ofteachersuseGenAIintheirrole

(

↑OpenInnovationTeam&

DepartmentforEducation,2024

).AsidefromusageofspecificAI

tools,severalinterviewparticipantsinourstudyhighlightedthatmanyEdTechtoolswerenow

incorporatingAI.

“UseofAIis...alreadyexploding.EverytoolhasorwillhaveAI

fundamentally.Teachers,students...everyoneusingAIregularly,evenifnotanAItool.”

2⃣TherapidpaceofdevelopmentsinAImakeitdifficulttoestablish

whichtrendswillendure.

Thetrendsidentifiedinthis

documentprovideourbestunderstandingatthiscurrentmomentintime.

Severalparticipantspointedoutthatitislikelythattrends,andother

insightsfromthestrategicforesightprocess,willbequicklyoutofdate.

“Beforeyoufinishyourforesight

process,scenarioshaveeithercometopassorbeeninvalidated.”

3⃣Thereissignificantvariance

withinLMICgovernmentsintheirabilitytoadaptandharnessAIineducationsystems.

DifferentLMICs(anddifferent

governmentswithinthoseLMICs)

facedifferentsetsofoptionsforhowtobuildcapacityandadapt

educationsystemsinlightofAI.

SeveralparticipantshighlightedthatfactorssuchasGDPpercapita,

technologicalinfrastructure,

strengthofgovernmentinstitutions,andcapacityofeducationsystemswouldaffecttheabilityof

governmentstorespond.

WHATWE’RESEEING:FROMCLEARSIGNALSTOEARLYSIGNS

Alookatthetrendswe’remorecertainaboutandthosethatarestillemerging

Thefourteentrends

Morecertaintrends

1.

AIissupportingteachers,particularlywith

administrativetasks.

2.

AIissupportingadministratorswithschool

management.

3.

AIisenhancingstudentfeedbackandteaching

attherightlevel.

4.

AIissupportinglearners,particularlywith

tailoredcontentandfeedback.

5.

AIproductswillexacerbateglobalinequality.

6.

ThecostofAIinfrastructurewillexacerbate

globalinequality.

7.

LMICgovernmentsarebeingincreasingly

proactivethroughregulatoryactivityand

guidelines.

Lesscertaintrends

8.

AIistransformingtheend-to-endassessment

process.

9.

GenerativeAItoolsproduceinaccurateand

biasedoutputs.

10.

AIiscreatinggreaterequalitywithinand

betweennationaleducationsystems.

11.

BigtechwilldominatethelandscapeofAI

productsineducation.

12.

AIineducationisnota‘winnertakesall’market.

13.

ThereisasignificantenvironmentalimpactofAI

products.

14.

Diversegroupsarecomingtogetherto

sense-makeandtakeaction.

SEVENMORECERTAINTRENDS

Trendsemergingwithclarityacrosscontexts

1.AIissupportingteachers,particularlywithadministrative/routinetasks

“ThemostpromisingusesofAIweareseeingis...thinkingaboutAIassomethingthatwilltake awaylaborioustasks.”

—Quote1

AIproductscansupportteacherstoteach.Forexample,

TeacherAI

*(highlightedinablogpostby

↑Kazmi(2024)

oftheGatesFoundation),achatbotdevelopedtotrainandsupportteachersthroughconversationalinteractions(poweredbyGPT-3.5Turbo)

throughWhatsApp,waspilotedinSierraLeone.Teachersuseditanaverageof35timesover3months(

↑Choietal.,2024

).

Inparticular,interviewparticipantshighlightedthatAIproductsarealreadyreducingtheamountoftimeteachersspendonroutine,administrativetasks,andincreasingtheamountoftimetheyspendonnon-routinetasks,suchas1:1supportforlearners(seeQuote1).Thereispotentialforthemtodothisevenmoreinthefuture(seeQuote2).

“Atatimewhenwe're

comingoutofthe

pandemic,andthere's

anongoingstrainon

teachers—there'san

assumptionthatAIand

othertechnologycan

solvethat,andfreeup

timeforteachers.”

—Quote2

ManyprominentproductsattheintersectionofAIandeducationinnon-LMICcontextsaresupportingteachers.Thisincludes:

.

Ummia

**and

MagicSchool

,***whichsupportteachersthroughlesson

planning,writingassessmentsandreports,andprofessionaldevelopment.

.

TeachFX

,****whichprovidesAI-poweredfeedbacktoteachers,basedonaudiorecordingsoflessons.

Beyondthesespecifictools,participantsnotedthatteachersareusing

general-purposeAItoolstowritereportcardsforstudents,orothertasksrequiredbygovernmentofficials.

*See

https://www.teacherai.co.uk/

.Retrieved4July2025.

**See

https://ummia.ai/en/ummia-app-english/Retrieved4July2025

.

***See

https://www.magicschool.ai/

.SeeRetrieved4July2025.

****See

https://ummia.ai/en/ummia-app-english/

.Retrieved4July2025.

2.AIissupportingadministratorswithschoolmanagement

AIcanenableadministrativetaskstobecarriedoutmuchmoreefficiently.InterviewparticipantsnotedthatschoolleadersusedAItowriteproposalsforadministrativetaskssuchasaskingforfundingtolocalgovernmentorcreatingtimetables(see

Quote3).

SomeAI-poweredEdTechstartupsareemphasisingtheroleofAIinschool

management.Forexample,Teachmint(anIndianstartupvaluedatUSD500m)pivotedfromprovidinglearningcontenttoteachersandlearnerstointegrated,AI-poweredschoolplatforms(offeringteachingmanagement,feecollection,

admissionssupport,etc.)(

↑Vardhan&Upadhyay,2023

).

SeveralparticipantshighlightedAItoolsforschoolmanagementwasapotential

benefitasitisperceivedas‘lessrisky’thanusageofAIbyteachers,andinparticularbystudents,forcontentdelivery/lessonplanning,givenaccuracyissues(seeQuote4).

Atanationallevel,countriesincludingtheUnitedArabEmirates,Kenya,Bhutan,andKyrgyzstanareusingAItoanalyseexistingdataintheireducationmanagement

informationsystems(

↑Pedróetal.,2019

).

“sCanweuseittomake

thetimetable?’.Thisis

themostfrequent

questionIgetasked

regardinguseofAI.”

—Quote3

“Ourfirst[AI]proofof

conceptsdidn’ttarget

teachersorstudents,but

schoolleaders.Itmeant

wecouldcontrolrisk.”

—Quote4

3.AIisenhancingstudentfeedbackandteachingattherightlevel

InJuly2025,AIforEducation’susecaseregardingAIineducationwiththehighest

numberofvotesisto“assessstudents’learninglevelsand[...]generatetasksofthe

appropriatechallenge”(see‘TopThreeAIIdeas’on

↑AIforEducation(nodate)

.Thesevotes,castbyarangeofstakeholders,signalthattheeducationecosystemseesmostpotentialinAIsupportingteacherstogeneratedifferentiatedtasks,particularlyin

largeclassrooms.

Thistrendwasfrequentlyemphasisedbymanyinterviewparticipants.SeveralnotedthatAIcoulddiagnosewhatchildrendidnotknowmuchmorequickly,andata

fractionofthecost(seeQuote1).Forexample,AItoolscanusedatafromlearnerworksheetscoresorassessmentstohighlightareasfordevelopmentandsuggestfutureexercisesorlessonplans(

↑Moustafaetal.,2024

).

“Thediagnosticsofwhat

kidsdon’tknowand

needtoknow,ismuch

better[withAItools]”.

—Quote4

EIDU’s‘SolverPlatform’,forexample,feedsreal-timelearningmeasurementdatabacktoteachers,contentproviders,andresearchers.AsAIcapabilitiesdevelop,participantsemphasisedthesecapabilitieswouldbecomemoreuseful

(

↑Friedberg,A.,2022

).

Participantsalsohighlightedthat,inthefuture,learnerprogressdataatschool-levelcouldenableinterventionsfor

childrenwhowerefallingbehind,muchmorespeedilythanbefore.Atnationallevel,countriesincludingChile,Peru,

andUruguayhaveimplementedearlywarningsystemstoidentifystudentsatriskofdroppingout(

↑Molina.,2024

,p.6).

4.AIissupportinglearners,particularlywithtailoredcontentandfeedback

Globally,personalisedlearningstartupsusingAIarereceivingvastamountsoffunding.

Althoughthesestartupsarebasedinhigh-incomecountries,theproductswillbeadoptedinandinfluenceLMICs.Forexample:

“InLMICs,

studentsare

aheadofthe

teacherswhenit

comestouseof

AI.”

—Quote5

.

↑Riiid(nodate)

,aSouthKoreanstartup,raisedUSD175minMay2021andhasappliedAIalgorithmstocreateatailoredAItutor.

.

↑SquirrelAI(nodate)

,aChinesestartup,raisedUSD180mbyApril2019.Itanalysesstudents’learningbehavioursandcreatestailoredlearningpathsandadaptive

assessments.

.

↑AmiraLearning(nodate)

,aUSstartup,raisedUSD11minApril2021andutilisesAItoprovidelearnerswithanintelligentreadingassistant.

“Individualised

tutorsisoneof

themostpositive

outcomes

resultingfromAI.”

—Quote6

InterviewparticipantshighlightedRori,aconversationalmathstutor(

↑Henkeletal.,2024

)and

↑Khanmigo(nodate)

,whichprovidesAI-powerededucationondemand,asexamplesof

LMIC-specificproducts.

Additionally,

↑AIforEducation(2024)

hasalivemapofAI-poweredEdTechsolutionsin

sub-SaharanAfrica,India,andPakistan.Inthismap,36outof84(43%)oftoolsareclassifiedas‘adaptivepersonalisedlearningplatforms’,and20outof84(24%)oftoolsareclassifiedas

‘student-facingchatbots’.InBrazil,AIEDUnplugged,aninitiativetointegrateAIintoexistingschoolsinLMICs(

↑daSilva,2023

),hasbeenimplementedacross7,000schools,benefitingover500,000studentsbyenhancingtheirwritingskills(

↑Isotanietal.,2023

).TheAItoolprovidedstudentswithfeedbackontheirwriting.

5.DifferentlevelsofaccesstoAIproductswillexacerbateglobalinequality

ManyinterviewparticipantshighlightedthatpeopleinLMICcontextsmaybelesslikelytoaccessAI-enabledEdTechtools.Thismightbebecauseoftheprohibitivecostofdevicesthatcanrunsuchtools,including

smartphones,high-endcomputers,orvirtualrealityheadsets.

ThegreatestinequalityinusageofAIproductsmaybewithinLMICs.DatafromtheWorldBankshowsthat

middle-incomeeconomiescontributemorethan50%ofglobaltrafficofgenerativeAItools,whilelow-incomeeconomiescontributelessthan1%(

↑Liu&Wang,2024

).

ParticipantshighlightedthatAIproducts,largelybuiltandbasedintheGlobalNorthwhilemonetisingdatafromusersintheGlobalSouth,canbeextractiveinnature.Assuch,theyfurtherentrenchinequalitybetweenlow-andhigh-incomecountries.

6.ThecostofAIinfrastructurewillexacerbateglobalinequality

ParticipantsalsohighlightedthatinequalityinaccesstoAIinfrastructurewillfurtherexacerbateinequality.Forexample:

.TheprohibitivecostofcomputingpoweravailabletodevelopersandproductteamsinLMICcontexts,willmakeitdifficultforteamstobuildEdTechproductsharnessingAIfortheircontext.

.Varyingabilitytoaccessareliableinternetconnection.

The2021WorldRiskPollonRiskfromAI(whichincluded125,911peopleacross121countries,highlightsthatpeopleinLMICsarelesslikelytobelievethatAIwill“mostlyhelp”peopleinthenext20years(

↑Lloyd'sRegisterFoundation

&Gallup,nodate

,p.13).

Twenty-twopercentofpeopleinEasternAfrica,23%inNorthernAfrica,and24%inSouthernAfricathoughtAIwould“mostlyhelp”,comparedto48%inNorthern/WesternEurope,43%inAustralia&NewZealand,and33%inNorthernAmerica.ThisdemonstratesthattheperceivedbenefitsofAI(inandbeyondtheeducationsector)aremorelikelytobefeltinhigher-incomecountries.

7.LMICgovernmentsarebeingincreasinglyproactive,throughregulatoryactivity&guidelines

ArangeofgovernmentsismakingactiveinterventionsrelatingtoAI.Forexample:

.InJune2024,Brazil’spassedanAIlegalframeworkthroughitsFederalSenate

“There'slotsof

discussionsgoingon—

andlotsofeducation.

Therearemore

strategiesand

manifestos.

Therearesomepapers,

wherepeoplestatetheir

positionregardingAI.

Buttheregulations

aren'tthereyet.”

—Quote17

(

↑COVINGTON,nodate

).InMarch2024,India’sgovernmentissuedaGenAIAdvisorynotetofirms(

↑Deep,2024

).

.InSeptember2024,theGovernmentofSaudiArabialaunchedaninitiativetotrainonemillioncitizensinAI(

↑ArabNews,2025

).

.InMarch2024,sevenAfricannationshavedraftednationalAIstrategies(

↑Okolo,

2024

).

.InJuly2024,Nepal’sgovernmentlaunchedaconceptpaperontheuseandpracticeofAI(

↑RastriyaSamacharSamiti,2024

).

Inparticular,childdataprotectionhasemergedasanincreasinglyimportantareafor

regulationintheageofAI.Severalcountries,includingIndia(

↑Nanda,2024

),Nigeria(

↑Eke

etal.,2023

),andBrazil(

↑Fernandes,2024

)laidoutextensivesafeguardsforobtaining,

processing,andstoringdatarelatingtochildren.Twoparticipantsnotedthatdatarightsforchildrenwereaparticularconcernforgovernments.

TwointerviewparticipantspointedoutthatLMICgovernmentsusetheapproachesofothercountriesastemplatestoguidetheirAIpolicies.Forexample,Pakistan’sdraftAIpolicyissaidtomirrorChina’s.Brazil’sframework,whichclassifiesAIsystemsbasedonrisk,echoestheEU’sAIAct.

SEVENLESSCERTAINTRENDS

Ideasgainingtraction,butstillevolving

8.AIistransformingtheend-to-endassessmentprocess

InterviewparticipantshighlightedtheroleAIisplayingatdifferentstagesofthe

end-to-endassessmentprocess.However,perspectivesonitseffectivenessweremixed:

“Ittakesyearsforteachers

tolearnhowtodo

assessmentwell.Even

then,inter-grader

agreementisnotsuper

high.sWhatisgood

enough?’remainsthekey

question?”

—Quote8

.SeveralparticipantsnotedthatAIisbeingusedtomarkassessments.

.All,however,notedthatthisprocessistime-consuminganddoesnotproducehigh-qualityresults.Thisisparticularlytruefor‘marking’longeranswers,wherethepotentialforbiasandhighercomplexityisabarrier(seeQuote8).

.Thatsaid,participantsmentionedthatitstillsavesteacherstime,astheycanstartwith‘pre-graded’answers.

“Formarkingexams,this

iscritical.Thoseexams

decidethefutureformy

kids.It'shighstakes,if

algorithmscanbreak

whenmarking

assessments.”

—Quote9

Thereissignificantactivityrelatingtothistrend.InOctober2023,FabInc.hostedaneventwith100participantsfrom17countries(largelyacrosssub-SaharanAfrica)todiscusshowAIcanbeusedtogenerate,mark,andanalyseassessments(

↑FabInc.,

2023

).

↑GatesFoundation(nodate)

fundedtheUniversityofCapeTowninSouthAfricato

developanAI-poweredvoicerecognitionmodelforearlygradereadingassessments.Toolssuchas

Smartpaper

*(anIndianstartupcurrentlyinfreebeta)offerAI-assistedfeedbackandgrading.

SomeparticipantsalsonotedthatteachersareusingAItoolstocreatetheirownassessments.

*See

/

.Retrieved4July2025

9.GenerativeAItoolsproduceinaccurateandbiasedoutputs

ManyinterviewparticipantshighlightedthatAItoolsarelimitedbytrainingdatathatisinaccurateorbiased,aswellastheimprecisesynthesisofinformation.

AI-generatedresources,assessments,andanswersarefrequentlyincorrectacrosssubjects.

SeveralparticipantshighlightedthatthesemistakescompromiseconfidenceinAItools,leadingtomuchsloweradoption.Whilesomedegreeoferrorispresentinanyeducationalresource,participantsfeltcurrenterrorrateswereabovethelevelteachers,learners,andparentswouldacceptineducation.

Additionally,sincemodelsaretrainedonEnglish-languagedata,largelyfromWesterncountries,threeparticipantsemphasisedthatoutputswerelimitedingeneratingcontentthatwasnotWestern-centric,andnotinEnglish(see

Quote10).

WhilesomeparticipantsfeltthatmorediversedataanddevelopmentinAImodelsmightleadtofewerinaccuracies,mostwerelesscertain.

“Whenpromptedtoplan

amathematicslesson

onfractions,themodel

outputsalessonaround

pizzaslices.That’snot

usefultoateacherin

ruralKenya.”

—Quote10

10.AIislevellingtheplayingfieldwithinandbetweennationaleducationsystems,includingthroughtailoringandcreatingeducationalresources

“Thecommonalitywithall

AIusecasesisthatthey

leveltheplayingfield.”

—Quote11

InterviewparticipantsemphasisedthepotentialofAItoleadtogreaterequalitybetweenschoolsandnationaleducationsystems(seeQuote11).AccesstoAItoolsmightenablealargernumberofteachersandchildrentoaccesshigh-qualityeducationatlowercost.

OnewayinwhichAIhasthepotentialtocreateamorelevelplayingfieldisthroughtailoringOpenEducationalResources(OERs):

.ParticipantshighlightedthatAIisbeingusedtosupportlearnerswithdisabilities,forexamplebytranslatingOERsfordeafstudents.

“Ateamofexpertscame

intohelpChat-GPTcreate

booksinMali’slocal

language.

Together,theycreated150

booksin6months.There’s

noawayapublisher

woulddo

that.”

—Quote12

.ParticipantshighlightedtheeasewithwhichAIcantranslateOERsintolocallanguages(seeQuote12).Relatedly,AIcanbeusedtoalignopenOERswithnationalcurriculumsandsocio-culturalcontexts(see

↑Alexandre,2023

).

Additionally,participantsemphasisedthepotentialforAItoenableteacherstocreate

theirownlearningresourcesandcontent(seeQuote12).EdTechorganisationsare

experimentingwiththisusecase:forexample,in2023,

Unacademy

*launchedAIeditorCohesiveAI,whichaimstomakecontentcreationmoreaccessibletoanyonewhowrites.

Thisdevelopmentcanenablemoreeducatorstobuildmore,higher-qualityresourcesaroundtheworld.

*See

/

.Retrieved4July2025.

11.‘BigTech’willdominatethelandscapeofAIproductsineducation

‘Bigtech’companiesareexpandingtheirpresenceinLMICecosystems,raisingawarenessandusageoftheirbrandsandmodels.Forexample:

“Reallyoverwhelmingto

figureouttheseapps

separately.Basically,

Chat-GPTmightgetyou

80–90%oftheway

there.”

—Quote13

.OpenAIlaunchedaLearningImpactPrizeinOctober2023,incollaborationwiththeToolsCompetition.PrizewinnersreceiveUSD100K,aswellasAPIcreditsandtechnicalguidancefromOpenAIengineers(

↑ToolsCompetition,2023

).

.NVIDIA’s‘EmergingChapters’providesaccesstolearning,tools,andnetworkstohelpcommunitiesgrowlocalAIprojects.30+Africandevelopercommunity

groupshavejoinedthenetworkin2021(

↑Kallot,2021

).

Interviewparticipantshighlightedthelikelihoodof‘BigTech’companiesdominatingthemarketforAItoolsinLMICs.Reasonsforthisinclude:

.Capitalfrominvestorsand/orexistinghigh-marginproducts.

.Productcapabilitiesacrossthegreatestdiversityofusecases(seeQuote13).

.Mostbrandrecognition.

.Capitalto‘giveaway’productsforfreetoalargenumberofusers,leadingtouserfamiliarityandlargeamountsofdata.

.Abilitytoattractthemosttalentandcomputingpower.

Ashighlightedabove,(see

DifferinglevelsofaccesstoAIproductswillexacerbateglobalinequality

)thisdynamiccanextractvalue(intheformofcapitalanddata)fromLMICcontexts.

12.AIineducationisnota‘winnertakesall’market

SomeinterviewparticipantshighlightedthatAIineducationwouldnotbea‘winnertakesall’market,dominatedbyBigTech.Potentialreasonsinclude:

“Open-sourceLLMsseemtohavea6-monthlagtoclosedproducts,buttheyeventuallycatchup.I’m confidentthattheway opensourceisevolvingmeanswewon’thaveawinnertakesallmarket.”

—Quote14

.Thelargenumberoforganisationsworkingonusecasessuchasschoolmanagementandassessments,whichmeansconstantcompetition.

.“Commoditisation”oflargelanguagemodels(LLMs),leadingtoalowerbarriertoentryfornewmodels.

.Incr