How AI Is Transforming the Future of Education
By: Ariellah Rosenberg, CEO ORT SA
When I was a child, I sat at the front of the classroom, not out of ambition, but necessity. I couldn’t see the chalkboard from the back, and the noise and frolicking of my classmates made it easy to lose focus. I struggled in subjects like physics and history, often losing the thread of the lesson before I could catch up. Today, those same struggles persist in classrooms everywhere, but now, they’re amplified. Attention is constantly hijacked by phones and social feeds. Class sizes are large, pressure is higher. And still, some students are just trying to keep up.
But something is shifting.
Artificial Intelligence (AI), once confined to science fiction and advanced labs, is quietly reshaping education, not as a gimmick, but as a force reshaping how students learn and how teachers teach. It’s not here to replace human educators, but to extend their reach, lighten their load, and personalise instruction in ways that were once impossible. For students like my younger self, easily distracted, unsure, and overwhelmed, AI could mean the difference between falling behind and finally keeping pace.
Understanding the Technology
Let’s break down the terminology:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to systems that can mimic tasks we usually associate with human thinking, things like learning, problem-solving, and language.
Machine Learning (ML) is a subset of AI that enables systems to learn and improve from data, without being explicitly programmed for each task.
Large Language Models (LLMs), like ChatGPT, use vast datasets to generate human-like text and respond to prompts, offering new possibilities for tutoring, content generation, and personalised support.
These tools are already influencing industries from healthcare to finance – and education is no exception.
Personalised Learning, at Scale
One of AI’s most powerful promises is personalised learning; the ability to meet every student where they are. For decades, teachers have struggled with how to differentiate instruction in classrooms of 30 or more students, each with different strengths, struggles, and learning speeds. AI could help tailor lessons to match a student’s pace and learning style, making education more inclusive
“Teachers who use AI tools weekly report saving nearly 6 hours per week, the equivalent of six weeks’ worth of time over a school year.”
In China, Squirrel AI Learning customises lessons for each student based on real-time performance. In the US, Khan Academy’s Khanmigo acts like a virtual tutor, guiding students with tailored prompts and support. Meanwhile, ‘Ed’ – an AI chatbot developed by the Los Angeles Unified School District – assists students with homework, time management, and academic planning.
Even more transformative is what’s happening at the Alpha Network of Schools in the US. Their model flips the traditional school day: students complete two hours of personalised academic learning each morning powered by AI, freeing up the rest of the day for workshops in public speaking, coding, entrepreneurship, and even outdoor survival. According to Alpha, their students consistently outperform national averages, and more importantly, report a renewed sense of purpose and love of school.
AI also holds promise for students with disabilities. Tools like LEAF System in Japan and Help Me See from Spain, address accessibility barriers by customizing visual, auditory, and textual content. This kind of personalisation makes sure a child who learns differently doesn’t get left behind just because the classroom can’t keep up.
Redefining the Role of Teachers
Teachers are often the unsung heroes of the education system, expected to be instructors, counsellors, content creators, data analysts, and administrators all at once. It’s a crushing workload, and it leads to burnout. Here’s where AI can help not by replacing teachers, but by amplifying their capacity. According to a Gallup-Walton Family Foundation survey, teachers who use AI tools weekly report saving nearly 6 hours per week, the equivalent of six weeks’ worth of time over a school year. Tasks like drafting worksheets, building lesson plans, and managing administrative work are now partially automated. That time saved becomes an “AI dividend”, extra hours that teachers can spend on direct instruction, mentoring, or simply catching their breath. Importantly, the survey also found that schools with formal AI adoption policies saw even greater time-saving benefits, up to 26% more. Policy, it turns out, drives not just adoption, but successful integration.
There’s also a qualitative benefit. Teachers who use AI tools regularly report not just working faster, but better. The materials they create are more aligned to student needs, more engaging, and often more inclusive. Still, the rise of AI in classrooms also raises essential questions about training, access, and implementation. Not all educators feel equipped to navigate these tools. Not all schools have the infrastructure or support to do so well.
The Ethical Frontier
As promising as AI is, it also raises serious ethical considerations, particularly in a space as sensitive as education.
“If AI-enhanced learning becomes the new standard, we must ensure that standard doesn’t exclude the very students who need the most support.”
A 2021 declaration from the United Nations, titled The Rights of Children in the Digital Environment, emphasises that educational institutions and governments have a duty to protect young people in this new technological landscape. That includes safeguarding student data, ensuring transparency in algorithmic decision-making, and maintaining the human relationships that form the core of good teaching. Bias isn’t hypothetical. It’s already showing up. AI systems learn from data, and if that data reflects societal inequities, the algorithms may amplify them. Tools trained on skewed data can reinforce inequalities they were meant to fix. If left unchecked, these tools won’t level the playing field, they’ll entrench it. And while AI has the power to close learning gaps, it also risks widening the digital divide. In countries like South Africa, where many learners in previously disadvantaged communities lack reliable internet access, devices, or even electricity, the benefits of AI can remain entirely out of reach. If AI-enhanced learning becomes the new standard, we must ensure that standard doesn’t exclude the very students who need the most support.
And let’s not forget the bigger picture: students today are preparing for jobs that don’t exist yet. When I was in school, I’d never heard of roles like UX designer, data ethicist, or TikTok strategist. Today, they’re mainstream. If education doesn’t evolve from content delivery to curiosity development, we’re teaching kids for a world that no longer exists. Education systems must evolve not just to teach content, but to nurture adaptability, curiosity, and lifelong learning, the very skills that AI itself can’t replace.
What the Future Demands
The classroom of the future isn’t a science fiction scene where robots teach algebra. It’s a human-centred environment, augmented by intelligent tools that adapt, support, and scale what great educators already do. Imagine a school where every child has access to real-time feedback on their writing, personalised math support, and AI-guided tools that help them learn a second language. Where teachers are freed from hours of paperwork to spend more time on mentorship and care. Where the curriculum is flexible, skills-based, and deeply connected to the world students will inherit. But this vision requires investment, of money, yes, but also of thought, training, and policy. We can’t rely on market forces alone to shape AI in education. We need intentional leadership from governments, educators, and tech developers alike. And we need to ensure that the future classroom is built for everyone, not just those with the newest devices or the most resources.
The Human Ingredient
Here’s the truth: the most powerful technology in any classroom has always been human. No machine can replace what happens when a teacher truly sees a student, when someone believes in your potential before you believe in it yourself. We don’t remember our best teachers because they had the perfect slide deck. We remember them because they made us feel capable. Because they lit a spark. As Khalil Gibran wrote: “The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.” The most transformative force in any classroom isn’t software or hardware. It’s the people in it. If AI can help more teachers do that, not just deliver content, but unlock curiosity, then it’s not just a tool. It’s a turning point. The question is: will we use it to replicate the past? Or reimagine the future?
And for kids like the one I used to be – distracted, struggling, sitting at the front because the back was too far away – that could make all the difference.
