International Day of Education: Thoughts on AI, Humanity, and the Future of Learning

by Corinna Wagner, Fundraising Coordinator at ADRA Europe

As someone who works in humanitarian aid for 24 years now, I’ve been observing how fast things are changing. And over the last 2 years, I feel this has accelerated even more – especially with technology like Artificial Intelligence (AI). I am getting invitations to AI trainings and courses nearly every week – so it seems I am not the only one in that situation. New tools and systems seem to appear almost overnight, and it’s hard to keep up. I imagine many of you feel the same way.

At the same time, I can’t help but feel uneasy. What happens to all the data we put into these AI systems? Who controls it? And what will it be used for? On a more personal level: Using AI sometimes makes me feel like we’re losing a part of what makes us human. For example, I’m using AI to help me write this blog – I wanted to try it because “AI versus human agency” is the topic of International Day of Education. I wrote a prompt in the style of a personal journal, adding one personal thought to another and asked AI to make a blog article out of it – and then I have been adding another layer of personal thoughts (and backchecked the sources 😉) While it’s helpful, tempting, raising speed and efficiency, I feel sad that the creativity and personal touch of writing is being replaced by something that isn’t really me.

I observe: When I rely on AI too much, I lose the struggle that comes with creating something on my own. And with that struggle, I also lose the sense of positive pride, of accomplishment that comes with working hard, sometimes nightshifts, and figuring things out. I am thankful that I completed my university degrees and all associated assignments to write before the time of AI. I wrote them from scratch on my own. And I learned a lot because I had to read much more to be able to condense it into a paper.

Are we losing critical thinking in some way?

The Potential of AI in Education

This year’s International Day of Education focuses on the topic: ‘AI and Education: Human Agency in an Automated World’. Even though I have my concerns, I can’t ignore the huge opportunities AI brings, especially for education. Imagine how it could help children and adults in remote areas access knowledge they never had before. Or to balance out a lack of teachers? Or to give children with special needs better access to education and personalize content? But here’s the problem: Do people in the rural or low-income areas that we classically work in have the tools to use AI, let alone a computer and internet? And if they do, do they know how to think critically about the information it gives them?

Let’s Look at Some Global Education Statistics:

“About 244 million children and adolescents around the world are out of school; 617 million children and adolescents cannot read and do basic math; less than 40% of girls in sub-Saharan Africa complete lower secondary school and some four million children and youth refugees are out of school.” (Source: International Day of Education | United Nations)

For many of these children, access to AI or even the internet is a distant dream. Although: We also acknowledge that smartphones reach most corners of the world at lightning speed and internet is more and more accessible, if people can afford the subscription. (We often joke that Wifi/Data access is now at the very bottom of Maslow’s pyramid of needs.) And it’s not just about getting these tools—it’s about teaching everyone how to use technology wisely. If we don’t, they risk falling further behind in a world that is moving forward at dizzying speed.

Education That Makes a Difference

At ADRA, we’re working hard to make sure we meet the goal of our worldwide advocacy campaign: Every Child. Everywhere. In School. Do you remember how ADRA collected more than 1 Million signatures around the world, and did you sign yourself?

We’re not just focused on getting children into classrooms, on empowering teachers. We want those classrooms to prepare them for the real world—and it is a world where technology plays a big role.

On these above pictures, shared by ADRA Slovenia, ADRA held workshops in schools around the topic of Global Education, SDG 10, which has “Equal Opportunity” as its focus. Children learned about equipment and software that could assist blind or hearing-impaired persons, a robot. Earlier, during the COVID pandemic, when homeschooling was a big topic, ADRA Slovenia collected, refurbished used laptops, and distributed them to children in schools which could not afford to buy a computer themselves.

My husband, the director of ADRA in Austria, is currently visiting a project in India. There, ADRA supported a public school in a rural area with a smart Whiteboard that makes a big difference now to teachers.  In one village, where ADRA’s work focuses on creating income opportunities for the poorest in society, families were given goats to help them earn a living. It might sound simple, but the young people in that village took it a step further. Aside from the womens’ group milking goats and producing goat milk soap, they used the internet to research prices for goat droppings. Then, instead of wasting them, they sold the precious droppings as fertilizer in the nearby city.

In Mozambique and other countries across Africa and Asia, where ADRA implements a Farmer Market School approach, farmer groups learned how to use WhatsApp or similar messengers to connect with wholesalers. Because of their education, they could negotiate better prices for their crops and improve their income. These are just a couple of examples of how education and access to technology can transform lives.

Bridging the Gap

But there’s still so much to do. Every school should give students access to computers, the internet, and the skills to use them. It’s not just about learning facts—it’s about preparing them to make smart choices in a world where AI and technology increasingly are everywhere.

We also need to make sure that technology doesn’t take away what makes us human. People should still be able to think for themselves, solve problems, and shape their own futures. Critical thinking is a key skill to address the problems we are facing in this world.

Thank you for standing with us to make sure that education remains a priority for every child and young adult everywhere, to have a future filled with hope, dignity, and opportunity.

Observing longer-term impact

In the Indian village that I spoke about earlier, about 6–8 years ago nearly all children dropped out of school after grade 4 when they had to move from primary to the further away secondary school. Today, most of the children continue school. Parents and village committees are engaged and see the value of education. Teachers are engaged and follow up on students that experience trouble with learning or in their personal life. These are more than “a statistic” to me on this International Education Day. Two of the boys that the project started with are now 18 years old. The now young men have recently proudly completed training to become motorbike mechanics. And a then teenage girl, now lady, completed high school and already the first year of university. The first older girls are returning as teaching assistants in their schools. What a change in that village.

BUT: I asked my husband to follow up on 2 girls that I had met about 6 years ago and that I remembered because I had talked to them. We had their pictures in our gift catalogue or as the title picture of a newsletter. And it’s important to me to be transparent about that: They have meanwhile dropped out of school because of their families moving away or just the reality of life: They had to work on fields to support the family income.

Education is a right – and a gift

So, this International Day of Education, let us remember that Education is a right – and a gift. A gift that we can take seriously in our own life. And that we can gift to others. By a donation, by encouraging them, by walking at their side when the reality of life kicks in, when it’s just hard. And let us learn, to never stop being creative, to think critically, to use our brains and hearts and emotions to shape the world we live in to the better.

Disclaimer: Despite having used AI to some extent as a “writing assistant” in line with the topic of this International Day of Education, I have incorporated lots of personal thoughts and memories. It’s part of my personal learning …