UNESCO’s 2025 report “AI and the Future of Education: Disruptions, Dilemmas and Directions” examines how AI challenges long-standing assumptions about teaching, learning, and the role of the human teacher. It sets out policy directions for national governments and is accompanied by AI competency frameworks for students and teachers that define what AI literacy should look like across different age groups and professional roles. The frameworks carry a strong ethics dimension, treating critical engagement with AI as inseparable from its use rather than an optional addition.
Who it affects: National education ministries that choose to engage with UNESCO guidance. No enforcement mechanism exists; impact depends on voluntary domestic adoption.
What is notably missing: UNESCO produces frameworks and recommendations; it cannot compel governments to act on them. Without domestic adoption, the competency frameworks have no effect on what students are taught. Most countries have not formally incorporated UNESCO’s AI competency frameworks into national curricula.