Page 81 - ALEF EDUCATION PR RPEORT MAY 2025

6/4/25, 8:39 AM AI will energise education but we must not repeat the mistakes of the past | The National
Two points are clear. First, the quality and sustainability of our national progress depend on human
capability. And second, education is our primary tool to cultivate this capability.

Yet this introduces a significant dilemma. There is understandable urgency to adopt AI swiftly within

education. However, this sense of urgency often precedes addressing the foundational question: how do
we develop the human capacity required to use AI wisely, effectively, and ethically? AI is fundamentally
different from previous technological shifts, demanding a unique response.

Reflecting on earlier technological shifts provides valuable context. The emergence of the internet
dramatically expanded educational opportunities through instantaneous access to knowledge. Yet,
despite improving efficiency, enhancing lessons, speeding student access to reliable resources and
streamlining school operations, the core educational model remained largely unchanged.

This evolved further into the EdTech era, introducing digital tools such as whiteboards, video
conferencing and learning management systems. These technologies made education more
personalised, modular and data-informed. Yet the Covid-19 pandemic starkly revealed the irreplaceable

value of human interaction, underscoring the limits of purely digital solutions.

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