This talk explores the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in education, focusing on its multifaceted conceptualisations as tools, cognitive models, and agents of human-AI hybrid intelligence [1]. Highlighting recent advancements in generative AI, the talk critically examines its promise and limitations in supporting both student learning and teacher practices. While AI presents some opportunities for task automation and learning-enhancement, it also raises critical concerns regarding human agency, ethical considerations, and systemic inequalities in education. Drawing on decades of research in AI and education, the talk emphasises the need to move beyond narrow applications of AI for productivity gains.
Instead, it advocates for AI systems that augment human competence, foster lifelong learning skills, and align with broader societal values. Using examples from his own work on multimodal learning analytics and human-centred AI, Prof. Cukurova underscores the importance of designing educational systems that embed AI within intentional, evidence-informed, and human-centred pedagogical frameworks. The talk concludes with a call for ecosystem-level innovation—spanning governance, teacher training, and assessment structures—to ensure that AI is not only a tool for automation but a catalyst for equitable, meaningful, and sustainable education.
Cukurova, M. (2024). The interplay of learning, analytics and artificial intelligence in education: A vision for hybrid intelligence. British Journal of Educational Technology, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13514
Bio
Mutlu Cukurova is a Professor of Learning and Artificial Intelligence at University College London. Prof. Cukurova investigates human-AI complementarity in education, aiming to address the pressing socio-educational challenge of preparing people for a future with AI systems that will require a great deal more than the routine cognitive skills currently prized by many education systems and traditional approaches to automation with AI. He directs the UCLAIT team and leads the Design and Use of AI in Education module at UCL. In addition, he is engaged in policy-making activities as an external expert (including UNESCO, IAEA, and EU external expert groups and co-authored the UNESCO AI Competency Framework for Teachers).
He was the programme co-chair of the International Conference of AI in Education in 2020, is part of UCL’s Grand Challenges on Transformative Technologies group, named in Stanford’s Top 2% Scientists List, Editor of the British Journal of Educational Technology and Associate Editor of the International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction.