AI and education in the Global South: Potential and practice emerging from the GSF community

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes part of everyday practice in education, organisations across the Global Schools Forum (GSF) community are beginning to explore what this means in practice. Drawing on insights from practitioners working across low- and middle-income countries, this blog brings together early lessons from the field, reflections on the values that should guide AI adoption in education, and how GSF is creating space for organisations to share experiences, learn from one another, and shape the next phase of this work together.

AI is widely being used by teachers and students around the world. Nearly four in ten teachers already report using generative AI for work-related tasks, often without clear guidance, training, or safeguards (OECD, 2026), while students increasingly use these tools to draft, revise, and check their work. As AI becomes more integrated into classrooms, it is beginning to shape not only how teachers work but also how children learn, think, and develop the skills they will need for the future. Yet in low- and middle-income countries, where education systems are still building foundational digital capacity, uneven access to technology, skills, and safeguards risks widening existing digital divides. Emerging global frameworks now position AI literacy, encompassing critical judgment, ethical awareness, and an understanding of AI’s limits, as a core educational capability (World Economic Forum, 2025 & UNICEF, 2026). Without clear guidance, shared learning, and sustained investment in digital and AI literacy, the education community faces a growing challenge: ensuring that AI strengthens learning and opportunity rather than amplifying inequality (World Bank, 2024).

Conversations across the GSF community have highlighted the need for practical, education-led guidance. In response, GSF has begun convening conversations across the community to better understand how members are encountering AI, the opportunities it may present, and the risks that need careful consideration.

Building momentum across the community

These discussions build on a series of recent engagements across the sector, including consultations with community members on their priorities around AI, dedicated sessions during the GSF Annual Meeting, participation in the India AI Summit, and facilitation of a panel on AI and evidence at the WISE 12 Summit. Together, these exchanges are helping shape how GSF can support members as they navigate the opportunities and challenges of AI in education.

Early conversations with the GSF community suggest that while AI tools are evolving quickly, several shared priorities are emerging. Across diverse contexts, education organisations stress that AI adoption must remain grounded in the core values of education and the realities of teaching and learning.

1. Trust and safeguarding are non-negotiable: clear boundaries are needed around data use, accountability, and transparency, especially for children and teachers, and education systems must ensure that AI is used in ways that protect learners’ wellbeing and act in the best interests of children.
2. Human agency must remain central: AI should support learning and teaching, not replace professional judgment or learner effort.
3. Equity in teaching and learning must guide adoption: AI should help close gaps in instructional quality, assessment, and support, particularly in LMICs, rather than reinforce differences between well-resourced classrooms and those with fewer teachers, tools, or training.
4. Evidence should guide scale: decisions about adoption and scale must be informed by learning outcomes and system impact, not speed or novelty alone.

Our role moving forward

As conversations across the community continue to evolve, GSF sees an important role in helping education organisations navigate the opportunities and risks of AI in ways that strengthen teaching, learning, and trust.

Over the longer term, this work will focus on several areas where the community has identified a need for shared learning and collaboration. These include creating spaces for open discussion on emerging challenges, supporting the exchange of practical experiences from organisations working in diverse contexts, and helping surface lessons that can inform responsible adoption of AI across education systems.

GSF will also seek to connect these community insights with wider sector conversations. This includes contributing to global education forums and policy discussions where questions around AI, evidence, and equity are increasingly being explored.

Our immediate next steps will focus on supporting members to engage with AI safely and productively through three main pathways:

1. Navigating AI challenges and concerns. Three roundtable discussions will explore key challenges in areas of AI application, including safeguarding and AI literacy, instructional design, and assessment. These conversations will create space for organisations to surface emerging questions, share experiences, and learn from different approaches being tested across the community.
2. Developing knowledge and solutions. Building on the roundtable discussions, we will facilitate expert-led sessions, and masterclasses that explore practical ways organisations can engage with AI in their work. These activities will focus on translating emerging insights into practical guidance and shared learning for organisations working in diverse contexts.
3. Sharing insights. As lessons emerge, GSF will capture and share practical insights through case studies, practice briefs, and other learning products. We will also support peer connections between organisations experimenting with AI at different stages, helping to build a shared base of knowledge across the community.

This work will evolve with the GSF members’ needs and priorities, and the themes and activities will be shaped by the questions, experiences, and priorities that members bring.

Alongside these community engagements, GSF will continue contributing to wider sector conversations on responsible AI in education. Planned engagements include participation in the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) conference including a facilitation of curated networking session ‘AI for learning: From potential to impact’ in collaboration with partners Atlassian, Fab AI, and Team4Tech connecting education implementers and AI developers to explore how AI can deliver real learning impact. GSF will also contribute to discussions and participate in annual meetings as a member organisation of the UNESCO Global Education Coalition, alongside the continued development of related work across the broader GSF programmes.

Get involved

We are inviting members and partners to help shape the next phase of this work.

You can contribute in several ways:

• Join upcoming roundtable discussions
• Take part in thematic working groups and learning sessions
• Share your organisation’s experiences, questions, or tools
• Stay informed and contribute feedback as this work evolves

Sign up for the roundtable discussions and help shape the future of this work.

Learn about the roundtable discussion series here

• Safeguarding and AI Literacy
• AI and Instructional Design
• AI and Assessments

Your input will help shape how the GSF community navigates the responsible use of AI in education, strengthening teaching, protecting trust, and supporting better learning and futures for children.