UNESCO: Generative AI in Education and Research

“Towards a human-centred approach to the use of generative AI”

UNESCO’s Guidance articulates a global policy and practice framework for integrating generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into education and research while safeguarding human values. It begins with an accessible overview of GenAI — what it is, how it works, and the varieties of models publicly available — then delineates key ethical, regulatory, and pedagogical challenges. It highlights eight “controversies” (such as algorithmic opacity, data misuse, digital inequities, intellectual property, and the dilution of plural discourse) and proposes a structured six-step approach for national governments and institutions to create coherent regulatory, policy, and capacity frameworks.

The guidance emphasizes a human-centered, rights-based vision: GenAI must promote human agency, inclusion, equity, cultural and linguistic diversity, and accountability. It urges that GenAI systems used in educational contexts be subject to institutional validation for both pedagogical and ethical fitness. The document also calls for immediate actions (e.g. data privacy mandates, age-appropriate use policies) as well as the long-term reflection on how GenAI might reshape knowledge creation, assessment, and pedagogy over time.