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AI will be at the service of education and people in Mexico
The UNESCO Representation in Mexico and the Secretariat of Public Education of Mexico brought together educational authorities, teachers, specialists and members of the private sector linked to technology in a dialogue on how education can take advantage of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies to reverse inequalities and promote more inclusive and equitable development.
The dialogue took place alongside similar events in Paris, New York and elsewhere around the world to mark International Day of Education 2025 (24 January), which this year calls for action to strengthen teachers, students and curricula to preserve people's autonomy so that it is human beings and communities who make decisions about their future in an increasingly automated world, and calls for investment in training teachers and students to properly use technologies such as AI.
The conversation on the occasion of International Day of Education 2025 began with the opening by the Secretary of Public Education of Mexico, Mario Delgado, and the Representative of UNESCO in Mexico, Andrés Morales.
Major technology companies announced this week a $500 billion investment in AI infrastructure, and that technology is expected to generate 3.5% of global GDP by 2030, so Morales reiterated the Organization's support to, as President Claudia Sheinbaum has said, forge an "educational, humanistic, and scientific Republic," in which the SEP has taken the first steps.
Morales explained that 91鶹Ʒ been working for almost 10 years on the role of AI in society, as its Member States, including Mexico, have understood that its discussion and actions are above all a crucial humanistic, philosophical, ethical and pedagogical issue for the present and future of nations, which is why it has built guidance tools and international frameworks such as the and the 2021 Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence.
The meeting took place in a key context for Mexico, as it concurs with the development of the National Development Plan 2025-2030, to define the sectoral priorities at the federal level and in many states. UNESCO Representation in Mexico also presented 11 concrete proposals on educational priorities, addressed in UNESCO's recent global education meetings, allocated in the new publication: "Transforming Education to Achieve Sustainable Development and a Future of Peace, Justice and Prosperity". A vision and proposals for Mexico 2024-2030. The document is available in Spanish to the federation and local governments.
Visión y propuestas para México 2024–2030
Mario Delgado pointed out that the National Education System and the New Mexican School will continue to prioritize communities with fewer resources to strengthen the learning and opportunities of their members, taking as an example José Vasconcelos, who in 1921 also used a technology that was in its first decades of life to strengthen and expand education: the radio.
“We have the novelty of Artificial Intelligence, and many people will wonder whether or not we use it for education, if we remain passive and suffer the consequences of a technological advance, which is inevitable, or if we think strategically about how we take advantage of these technological advances to improve education,” he stressed.
For this reason, he considered that this new tool offers possibilities for optimizing teachers' time, designing better pedagogical strategies and focusing on the human and socio-emotional factors.
On the other hand, he announced that he has “invited ANUIES [National Association of Universities and Higher Education Institutions] to form an observatory of AI in education, and we are going to invite UNESCO, because we cannot be surprised. It is better to be aware of what is happening in the world, to what are the best practices of artificial intelligence in education and not suffer the consequences of the misuse of artificial intelligence.”
This is crucial, as only 10% of schools and universities worldwide officially oversee the use of AI, according to . The Organization also published the 2024 , which documented that digital technologies have begun to be incorporated into the education sector and that the number of graduates from AI postgraduate programs has increased. Therefore, a national strategy is essential in addressing the rapid changes experienced by education and labour markets.
