Year: 2026

In recent discussions surrounding the integration of artificial intelligence into the workplace, a prevailing narrative has suggested that AI will seamlessly and inevitably drive unprecedented productivity gains. However, a closer examination reveals a far more complex reality. A recent analysis by Dr. Philippa Hardman, entitled “The Illusion of AI Productivity Gains,” provides a critique of this narrative [1]. Hardman argues that while AI has the potential to enhance output quality and employee satisfaction, these benefits are currently realized by only a small fraction of the workforce. For the majority, AI adoption has led to either stagnation or the creation of […]

Following our recent look at the “Safety Gap” and the dangers of using AI tools that simply deliver immediate answers, it is worth asking what the alternative actually looks like in practice. The theoretical argument for “productive struggle” is compelling, but where are the examples of technology being used to genuinely support cognitive development rather than bypass it? A recent report from the UNESCO Courier offers a striking, concrete example from an unexpected context—and it holds profound lessons for vocational education and training in Europe. In the mountainous Guizhou province of southwestern China, a project called Hongyan (meaning “wild goose”) […]

If you spend any time reading the relentless stream of announcements from major technology companies, you could be forgiven for thinking that the question of Artificial Intelligence in education has already been solved. The narrative is invariably one of frictionless assistance: AI tutors that never sleep, instantly clarifying complex concepts and guiding students effortlessly toward mastery. However, a recent, sobering review of the actual evidence base suggests a much more complicated reality – one that should prompt serious reflection among teachers and trainers in European education including in vocational education and training. The Stanford SCALE Initiative recently undertook a massive […]

It is easy to assume that the challenges facing Vocational Education and Training in the age of Artificial Intelligence are uniquely European. We spend considerable time debating how to balance the agility of dual systems with the coherence of centralised curricula, or how to implement the ambitious goals of the European Digital Education Action Plan across diverse national contexts. Yet, a look beyond our borders reveals that these structural tensions are remarkably consistent across advanced economies. A major new intervention from Australia, the Castlereagh Statement, raises issues similar to those of. Europe, particularly in its diagnosis of how educational systems […]

It is not surprising that there is growing confusion and even open anxiety about Artificial Intelligence in education. The rapid adoption of Generative AI, at least by students if not always by educational institutions, has raised basic questions about the future direction of teaching and learning. But while the headlines are often dominated by the latest releases from a limited number of large, mainly American technology companies, a different kind of development has been quietly unfolding closer to home. Over the past decade, the European Union has been constructing a comprehensive approach to AI policy, culminating in a framework that […]

It is not surprising that there is growing scepticism and even open opposition to AI in education. Even if the latest release of Large Language Models have shown a marked improvement Generative AI remains problematic on a number of levels including so called hallucinations, ongoing biases, limited provision in many languages and so on. Perhaps most problematic is the control asserted by a very limited number of large manly American companies all of whom have tried to hype. The value of their products for education. All of which is true but is just a continuation of the trend to over […]

The latest issue of the UNESCO Courier asks a deceptively simple question: do we still need to think? At one level, the answer is obvious. Of course we do. Yet the fact that the question now has to be posed tells us something important about the moment we are in. Generative AI has arrived in education not simply as another digital tool, but as a technology that appears to challenge some of the core purposes of teaching and learning. It can generate essays, summaries, lesson materials, quiz questions, code, translations and feedback at speed. In doing so, it encourages a […]