China Re-frames AI in Education: Global Summit Emphasises Human-Centric Tech Over Tech for Tech’s Sake

Speakers and delegates at WISE emphasised that education must remain rooted in human values such as empathy, creativity, collaboration and critical thinking, qualities that AI, they argued, cannot replicate. Against a backdrop of soaring investment and experimentation in EdTech, there is a growing realisation that not all educational problems are solvable by algorithms alone. Instead, AI should play a supportive role, augmenting teachers’ capabilities, personalizing learning paths and giving students new tools to explore their potential. This marks a transition from earlier years when the focus was largely on digitisation and automation.

Speakers and delegates at WISE emphasised that education must remain rooted in human values such as empathy, creativity, collaboration and critical thinking, qualities that AI, they argued, cannot replicate. Against a backdrop of soaring investment and experimentation in EdTech, there is a growing realisation that not all educational problems are solvable by algorithms alone. Instead, AI should play a supportive role, augmenting teachers’ capabilities, personalizing learning paths and giving students new tools to explore their potential. This marks a transition from earlier years when the focus was largely on digitisation and automation. Meanwhile, some research warns that overly aggressive AI deployment in education, especially generative AI, risks widening inequalities, reducing critical thinking, and undermining academic integrity if not managed carefully.

For policymakers and educators, the summit’s outcome suggests a pivot: investing not just in technology infrastructure, but also in human-centered pedagogy, teacher training, and regulatory frameworks that safeguard fairness, privacy and creativity. Countries like China, which have invested heavily in digital-education platforms (e.g., its national Smart Education system), may need to recalibrate their strategies toward balanced digital-human hybrid models. For parents, students and global EdTech firms, the takeaway is clear: AI is no longer a magical shortcut, it is a tool to be wielded with caution, wisdom and respect for human-centred learning.