On May 16, Vice Education Minister Zhong Denghua delivered a speech at the keynote session held under the theme of “envisaging the future of education in the AI era”, of the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Education, presenting China’s efforts in promoting AI-empowered education in recent years.

Zhong pointed out that the rapid development of the new generation of information technology represented by AI would revolutionize the way education is perceived, organized and provided, further unlocking the potential of education as a lever for the betterment of human society. He noted with satisfaction the efforts made by some schools to improve student IT literacy, build smart infrastructure on campus, and make use of AI in teaching, guided by policies introduced in recent years, including the New Generation AI Development Plan and the AI Innovation Action Plan in Institutions of Higher Learning, and China’s Education Modernization 2035.

Zhong envisaged a number of new developments for China’s education in an AI-empowered era: Education reforms and innovation would be given new imputes; academic research would become more cross-disciplinary; new educational standards focusing more on equality and quality would be introduced; and educational governance systems would have to address moral and data security risks. He expressed the wish for countries to conduct more exchanges and cooperation in the field of academic research and best practice sharing under the auspices of UNESCO, in order to make inclusive, equitable and sustainable education accessible for all.