AI, social responsibility & international education: Helping schools & universities navigate emerging technologies

Emerging technologies are changing how schools and universities teach, learn, lead, safeguard, and build their communities. Leaders in educational institutions are being asked to make important decisions about artificial intelligence and other technologies—often without clear answers about the risks, opportunities, or long-term social impacts. We launched a global taskforce to help.

Will academic policies guide the use of new technologies in socially responsible ways? How can educational communities—from Pre-K all the way through to higher education—embrace innovation without losing sight of human development, well-being, equity, and trust? What safeguards are needed?

These aren’t questions that any one school, university, government, or service provider can answer alone. During a recent student panel discussion, one participant offered this simple advice: "Help us to create a good relationship with technology."

As a global membership community and international accrediting body, we work with schools and universities around the world, and we evaluate their practices. We are uniquely placed to bring together their differing perspectives as we strive to help all institutions navigate emerging challenges responsibly.

We launched the Taskforce on Emerging Technologies with a specific focus on international education. After assembling a diverse group of experts from around the world, we are now discussing principles to guide the ethical use of emerging technologies in this context.

The goal is not simply to respond to today's technological challenges. It is to help schools and universities make informed, socially responsible decisions as technologies continue to evolve.

AI, ethics, & international education

Policymakers worldwide are still determining how emerging technologies should be governed. Recent debates and changes around the timing and implementation of the EU AI Act demonstrate how complex and rapidly evolving this landscape has become.

This conversation extends far beyond AI tools. It raises fundamental questions about our future lives, our communities, and our relationships with technology. We all have questions about ethics, accountability, safeguarding, privacy, and the future of learning.

At CIS, our member schools and universities are asking what responsible use looks like, seeking our support to learn what we will expect from them when it comes to our school evaluation and improvement services.

Our intent is to provide thoughtful guidance grounded in ethics and informed by the taskforce’s diverse global perspectives.

A global, cross-sector collaboration

The taskforce brings together 30 representatives from a wide range of professions and sectors, including schools, universities, INGOs, service providers, an IT professional association, the IB, a credential evaluation company, a futurist and seven of our CIS Global Team.

This diversity is intentional—these challenges are complex, requiring perspective beyond any one country, entity or profession.

Taking a snapshot of governance level conversation already tells us how difficult it is for leaders to know how and when to respond.

We will all continue to gain insight and clarity as we educate ourselves about this essential aspect of international education and in our lives overall.

Five lenses shaping the conversation

The taskforce’s recommendations will identify and define the principles to promote equity, integrity and safeguards in the use of emerging technologies through five interconnected lenses.

Together, these five lenses help schools and universities to think more broadly about technology decisions—not only what technology can do, but what it means for people, learning, communities, and society overall.

1. Leadership & governance—How can leaders make informed, ethical, and transparent decisions about technology use?
2. Human development—How do emerging technologies influence teaching and learning, agency, critical thinking, identity, and personal growth?
3. Regulations & safeguarding—What protections, policies, and accountability measures are needed to support students and communities?
4. Belonging & flourishing—How can technology strengthen relationships, inclusion, well-being, and human connection?
5. Sustainability—What are our long-term social responsibilities as we consider the impact of emerging technologies on people, organisations, and the planet?

The taskforce will not produce simple answers to complex questions; the themes above will help us to understand the opportunities and the challenges ahead and share what we learn with our community.

For example, our early discussions have focused on several of the tensions that schools and universities must navigate.

• Innovation versus trust and integrity
• Efficiency versus growth
• Broadening perspectives and creativity versus limiting and narrowing them
• Opportunity versus safeguarding
• Global perspectives versus the influence of the technology industry

There are many more. And these are not problems to solve once and for all. They are realities that require thoughtful leadership, ongoing dialogue, and collective responsibility.

How this work will support educational institutions globally

The taskforce's recommendations will help us to:

• develop principles for the socially responsible use of emerging technologies 
• support schools and universities as they make technology-related decisions
• inform future guidance, resources, and professional learning
• strengthen conversations around safeguarding, equity, and human development
• help the international education community prepare for future developments

The goal is not simply to respond to today's technological challenges. It is to help schools and universities make informed, socially responsible decisions as technologies continue to evolve.

As the work progresses, we will continue sharing insights, resources, and practical guidance to help educational institutions understand emerging issues and prepare for future developments.

What happens next?

As the work of the taskforce progresses, we’ll share insights, resources, and practical guidance with our members and the wider international education community.

Keeping people at the centre

One insight has consistently emerged throughout the taskforce's discussions: this work is ultimately about people, not technology.

While the taskforce was established to examine emerging technologies, conversations have repeatedly returned to questions of humanity, learning, social responsibility, community, and well-being.

These themes will continue to shape the taskforce’s work and thinking with a clear thread: leading educational institutions in the era of AI will require ethical, socially responsible leadership.

Our challenge is not simply to adopt new technologies. It is to ensure they strengthen our ability to learn, connect, flourish, and contribute meaningfully to the world around us.

We’ll continue to refer back to the student’s voice who succinctly captured the overall purpose of the taskforce—when asked what adults should focus on as technology continues to evolve, he replied:

Help us to create a good relationship with technology.