Empowering Minds: A Round Table on Generative AI and Education in Asia-Pacific

The emergence of generative AI, a recent groundbreaking artificial intelligence (AI) technology capable of producing sophisticated content from text and images to simulations and audiovisuals, has become a transformative force across multiple sectors. Popular applications like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude are prime examples of the rapidly expanding range of generative AI tools that are having an impact in education across the Asia-Pacific. These tools offer unprecedented opportunities for enabling personalized learning experiences at scale and expanding access to high-quality learning resources. However, as generative AI increasingly reshapes classrooms, critical questions remain unanswered, such as:

- How can generative AI be ethically and responsibly integrated into educational settings?

- What policies and safeguards are needed to address issues like misinformation, algorithmic bias and threats to academic integrity?

- What challenges do Asia-Pacific countries face in harnessing generative AI in education, given the region’s unique context?

- What are the strategies for Asia-Pacific countries to take up opportunities offered by generative AI, while mitigating the risks?

In response to these questions and emerging challenges in the region, the UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok (UNESCO Bangkok), in collaboration with The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), organized the regional experts meeting on 7-9 November 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand. This hybrid meeting, titled ‘Empowering Minds: A Round Table on Generative AI and Education in Asia-Pacific’, explored the implications of generative AI for teacher training and development. It served as an important platform to leverage opportunities and mitigate risks of generative AI in education across the Asia-Pacific region.