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In the wake of emerging evidence that unregulated Artificial Intelligence (AI) puts children at a disproportionate risk of harm, global leaders are calling for stronger AI controls to be implemented on the international level.
This section details the United Nations' increasing concern over Artificial Intelligence, building on Secretary-General António Guterres's warnings since 2017 about its impact on labor markets, security, and societal structures. The recent Global Digital Compact in 2024 represented an earlier proactive step. The core of this unified strategy is the UN Independent Scientific Panel on AI’s Preliminary Report, which starkly warns of AI's potential for "catastrophic harm" due to its rapid advancement outpacing both scientific understanding and governmental regulatory capacities. The report explicitly notes that biases in AI can lead to discrimination against vulnerable groups like women, children, and racial minorities. While acknowledging the importance of teacher training in preparing for AI, the report is criticized for omitting discussions on professional rights, the impact of AI on working conditions, or the involvement of educators in decision-making processes. Furthermore, the report's emphasis on personalization in education via AI is questioned, as its benefits remain largely unproven and potentially overlook crucial relational, pedagogical, and social aspects of learning, raising concerns that Education International hopes will be addressed in future dialogues.
This section specifically addresses the urgent need for caution regarding AI's integration into education, particularly concerning children's rights. It highlights the alarming rise in the use of children's likenesses in AI deepfakes and notes children's heightened vulnerability to manipulation by interactive AI, which poses significant risks to their developmental well-being, safety, and privacy. In response, Secretary-General Guterres called for all UN member states to adopt an AI Child Safety Pledge. This pledge aims to hold AI developers accountable to stringent testing and oversight standards, reflecting Guterres's strong stance that "No child should be a guinea pig for unregulated AI," drawing a parallel to the rigorous safety testing required for medicines and toys before they reach children. For Education International and its member organizations, these concerns underscore the critical mandate for trade unions to ensure that any AI tools introduced into classrooms are thoroughly vetted and tested, thereby safeguarding students from potential manipulation and violations of their privacy. The article references EI's own report, "Teaching, AI, and the Human Core of Education: The Future Worth Defending," presented at a recent AI Network Meeting, emphasizing the human-centered approach to AI in education.
While acknowledging AI's potential economic benefits, especially for developing countries, this section strongly emphasizes that such gains must not come at the expense of workers. The Preliminary Report from the UN stresses that economic growth from AI does not inherently lead to equitable distribution and necessitates robust governance to ensure widespread benefits. It calls for complementary investments in skills, workflows, infrastructure, and labor-market institutions, warning that without these, AI risks exacerbating inequality, displacing workers, and shifting wealth towards capital rather than fostering sustainable, well-compensated jobs that offer worker autonomy and social dignity. Representatives from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Education International lauded these remarks but also pointed out critical omissions in the dialogue. They highlighted the lack of focus on AI’s direct impact on various types of work, including for teachers and researchers, and the insufficient recognition of the vital roles of policy, social dialogue, and collective bargaining in shaping both work-related and education/research policies. Looking ahead to the next dialogue in May 2027, the global labor movement is urged to continue coordinating efforts to foreground labor issues, delve deeper into AI’s effects on working conditions from a worker-centric perspective, and further elaborate on the indispensable role of collective bargaining in establishing democratic AI governance. The overarching goal is to ensure that workers and unions are included in decision-making to realize the UN’s vision of "an AI that serves people everywhere."