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Explore a wide range of valuable resources on GCED to deepen your understanding and enhance your research, advocacy, teaching, and learning.
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The UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI: Shaping the Future of Our Societies Year of publication: 2023 Corporate author: German Commission for UNESCO | Netherlands National Commission for UNESCO | Slovenian National Commission for UNESCO The UNESCO commissions of Germany, the Netherlands and Slovenia with the support of IRCAI have jointly published a brochure on the UNESCO recommendation on the ethics of artificial intelligence. It summarizes the most important content in a compact manner and presents the central demands from the areas of health, culture, the environment, gender equality as well as education and research. The recommendation with its diverse topics is not only relevant for political experts, but it offers one for various areas of application of the ethical framework and thus serves as an orientation for dealing with AI in general. The brochure is available for the wider public in a number of formats including the original Adobe InDesign file that allows translations to be inserted and format pages, resulting in new versions of the brochure. Therefore, we strongly encourage all UNESCO Commissions from across all UNESCO regions Africa, Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America, Latin America and the Caribbean to use the text in the basic files and translate the content into their own languages, including using the graphic file to setup their own designs of the brochure. 
Missing Links in AI Governance Year of publication: 2023 Corporate author: UNESCO | Mila – Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute Over the next decade, Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) will continue to significantly impact societies. While these scientific and technological advances take place at an extraordinary pace, it is necessary that we simultaneously stimulate a global and inclusive conversation around their development and governance. It is in this context that Mila and UNESCO join forces to steer a collective work to identify and understand missing links in AI governance. This publication is a compilation of 18 selected submissions from a global open call for proposals launched in 2021. The works featured cross disciplinary and geographical boundaries, and include the perspectives of academics, civil society representatives, and innovators to help shift the conversation on AI from what we do know and foresee to what we do not, the missing links. The topics covered are wide ranging, including AI and Indigenous rights, Deepfakes, Third-Party Audits of AI Systems, AI alignment with SDGs, and the centralization of decision-making power AI allows. Policymakers and civil society members will benefit from the insightful perspectives brought forward to face the immense task they are presented with – which is to ensure the development of AI in a human-centred, responsible and ethical way, in accordance with human rights. 
International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Education, Planning Education in the AI Era: Lead the Leap; Final Report Year of publication: 2019 Corporate author: UNESCO The current report is an exhaustive account of the discussion and debate at the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Education (hereafter referred to as ‘the conference’) held in Beijing from 16 to 18 May 2019. Under the overarching theme of ‘Planning Education in the AI Era: Lead the Leap’, the conference was structured into seven plenary sessions and 16 breakout sessions complemented by a live exhibition and study tours to facilitate forwardlooking debates, share cutting-edge knowledge and AI solutions, and deliberate on sector-wide strategies. 
The Impact of AI on Curriculum Systems: Towards an Orbit-Shifting Dialogue (In-Progress Reflection; no. 32, 2019) Year of publication: 2019 Corporate author: UNESCO International Bureau of Education (IBE) ‘Artificial Intelligence’ (AI) refers to the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence. In order to achieve transformational change in contemporary curriculum systems and learning environments, we need to engender an orbitshifting dialogue about the potential relationship between AI and education, in terms of both independent variables (threats), and dependent variables (opportunities). Through such a dialogue, we need to create foresight indicators that can predict the process of this relationship. It is, however, crucial that the relationship between AI and education is strong and directly proportionate. If the potential of the relationship is not exploited sufficiently, then underdeveloped education systems will lag behind and fail to achieve their potential for transformation, whether radical or incremental. Indeed, some may even become obsolete. The paper contends that in order to effectively contribute to the knowledge economy and to sustainable development in the age of the 4th Industrial Revolution (characterized by a fusion of cyber-physical technologies) modern educational systems need to overcome obstacles to innovation in order to maximize the potential for transformative change. To achieve this will require an ‘orbital shift’ in educational planning, practice and resourcing, to enable schools to respond more effectively to the rapidly changing needs of young people, society, the economy and environment in the third decade of the 21st century. Schools, educational institutions and environments, need to transform from being primarily spaces for teaching and taking exams, into spaces for innovation and personal learning, based on a culture of actively listening to the voices, choices, needs and goals of learners. Teachers need to become facilitators, coaches and mentors for learners. Schools need to create AI-enabled, flexible, collaborative working spaces. Visionary, energetic educational leaders need to communicate effectively with all stakeholders, including employers and parents, to inspire and manage change and smart decision-making to develop schools of the future. The aim of this reflection is to initiate an ‘orbit-shifting’ dialogue about the potential of AI applications to transform all components of the curriculum system to meet emergent 21st century educational goals. The conceptualization aims to explore the variable roles and impact of curriculum learning and assessment on these emerging educational goals. Theme 1 of the paper outlines the concepts and characteristics of a range of existing AI systems and their potential to enhance teaching learning and assessment. Theme 2 reflects on the potential to embrace AI systems across the curriculum system. Theme 3 proposes an action model to enable AI to have an ‘orbit shifting impact’ on all the components of the curriculum system (i.e. learners, teachers, learning environments, leadership and management, content, pedagogy and assessment) by enhancing opportunities for individualization, creativity and uniqueness. 
Artificial Intelligence and Democracy Year of publication: 2024 Author: Daniel Innerarity Corporate author: UNESCO Montevideo | Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, adopted by all Member States in November 2021, is the first global policy framework for artificial intelligence (AI) and outlines different aspects of this technology that directly impact political life. The initial considerations of the Recommendation outline the potential ramifications of AI across diverse domains, notably its implications for democracy. This report builds on these analyses and recommendations, aligning with the core values and principles outlined in the Recommendation. It delves into the current and potential impact of artificial intelligence on democracy and the benefits that both artificial intelligence and digitalization, in general, could bring to enhancing collective decision-making processes. This analysis is structured around four key topics:1. The democratic expectations and disappointments of digitization2. The new digital public space: the democratic conversation3. The democracy of data: the politics of Big Data4. Democracy as a form of political decision-making: algorithmic governance Finally, this report offers recommendations for the democratic governance of artificial intelligence aimed at mitigating neative impacts and fostering a more democratic approach to AI governance. 
AI and the Holocaust: Rewriting History?; The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Understanding the Holocaust Year of publication: 2024 Author: Mykola Makhortykh | Heather Mann Corporate author: UNESCO The threats associated with AI on safeguarding the record of the Holocaust are manifold, including the potential for manipulation by malicious actors, the introduction of falsehoods or dissemination of biased information, and the gradual erosion of public trust in authentic records. This paper provides a warning of what is at stake for the preservation of historical truth in a digital era increasingly mediated by AI. It highlights five major concerns:1. AI automated content may invent facts about the Holocaust2. Falsifying historical evidence: Deepfake Technology3. AI models can be manipulated to spread hate speech4. Algorithmic bias can spread Holocaust denial5. Oversimplifying history While there are some benefits to be gained, such as enhanced engagement and interaction opportunities for learners, as well as more efficient data processing capabilities for researchers, to navigate these challenges and capitalize on the benefits, it’s essential for AI designers, policymakers, educators, and researchers to collaborate closely. Only AI systems equipped with robust safeguards and human rights assessments, coupled with an increased focus on developing digital literacy skills, can uphold the integrity of historical truth and ensure the responsible use of artificial intelligence. 
Podcast: Learning for the Future; Opportunities of Artificial Intelligence in School Education Year of publication: 2024 Author: Marcelo Mendoza Corporate author: Chile Foundation | Educarchile In this edition of the podcast: Learning for the Future, we spoke with Marcelo Mendoza, Principal Investigator of the Human-Centered AI Research Line at CENIA, with whom we developed the topic: Opportunities for Artificial Intelligence in school education. We also learned about the experience of the Bicentennial People Help People High School in Pilmaiquén using AI in various processes, together with teacher Cristóbal Morales. 
User Empowerment through Media and Information Literacy Responses to the Evolution of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) Year of publication: 2024 Author: Divina Frau-Meigs Corporate author: UNESCO Key messages Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI are having a significant impact on people’s engagement with information, digital technology, and media. This raises concerns about control human agency and autonomy over information, decision making, gender equality, and freedoms in general. User empowerment through Media and Information Literacy (MIL) as a response to GAI, which is still in its infancy, needs to be fully deployed and public policy makers should be concerned in developing it well from the outset. MIL is necessary to build people’s ethical use of synthetic media, i.e. video, text, image or voice content fully or partially generated by AI-systems. The societal opportunities being deepened by GAI include: access to information, participation, employability, creativity, lifelong learning and creative industries. The societal potential risks being deepened by GAI include: disinformation, loss of data privacy, threats to integrity of elections, surveillance, lack of source reliability, discrimination, including gender-based and racial stereotypes, and copyrights violations. Building on familiarity in the face of urgency, AI literacy can be embedded in MIL to teach and train all sorts of communities (educators, librarians, youth workers, women networks, etc.). Ensuring explainable AI is key to both the design of MIL curricula and to the design of policy and governance around GAI. To build trust in information and education, source reliability needs to be revised to encompass the different types of “evidence” provided by GAI. MIL can train informed people from outside the technology industry to participate in the design, implementation and regulation of AI, in a manner that remains human-centered, gender-responsive and mindful of the public interest. Training for MIL is within the remit of governments and institutions of higher education, which have a duty to ensure MIL policy actions are sustained and strengthened over time, to be future-proof, in the face of an ever-evolving AI/GAI. 
International Day of Education 2025: Artificial Intelligence and Education: Preserving Human Agency in a World of Automation Year of publication: 2025 Corporate author: UNESCO International Day for Education 2025 aims to: Examine new possibilities offered by AI, especially for teaching, learning, assessment and educational administration. Promote the development of critical AI literacies by equipping educators and learners with the competencies needed to understand, use and influence AI technologies, in line with the UNESCO AI competency frameworks for teachers and students. Ensure that AI complements, rather than replaces, the essential human elements of learning, including the cultivation of in-person relationships and emotional intelligence. 
Journey through the MILtiverse: Media and Information Literacy Toolkit for Youth Organizations Year of publication: 2024 Author: Sandra Acero Pulgarin | Natalia González-Gil | Alejandro Santamaría Virviescas Corporate author: UNESCO Empowering Youth Organizations with and for Media and Information LiteracyIn an era where digital interactions dominate, young people must be equipped with more than just basic digital literacy skills. Media and Information Literacy (MIL) has become an essential competency, enabling them to critically navigate the overwhelming ow of information in our fast-paced and complex information ecosystem. \With the Internet user base getting younger every day — data shows that one in three internet users is a child — countries worldwide are increasingly working on integrating MIL into their education systems. Despite these advancements, many young people still grapple with challenges such as disinformation, hate speech, and other harmful online content. Additionally, new technologies continue to emerge, creating challenges with unknown impacts. For example, 80% of young people aged 10 to 24 use AI multiple times a day for education, entertainment, and other purposes. Global youth organizations are at the forefront of UNESCO’s eorts to promote MIL among young people through informal education. This toolkit serves as a primary resource to help these organizations incorporate MIL into their strategies, policies, and operations, aiming to make MIL a lasting component of their practices and peer-to-peer educational programs. Join us on this journey through the MILtiverse and empower the next generation by making MIL a fundamental life competence for their futures.