AI-generated summary
Education in the 21st century is undergoing a profound transformation driven by technology, especially intelligent interfaces powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and neurotechnologies. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of EdTech, establishing a new educational normal characterized by flexibility, global accessibility, and reduced economic barriers. The global EdTech market is rapidly expanding, with startups like India’s Byju’s and Austria’s GoStudent leading the way. However, this revolution is not merely about digitizing education but reimagining it as a flexible, inclusive, ethical, and globally connected system.
Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, enhance content creation and feedback, while adaptive AI personalizes learning by adjusting to individual student needs, improving engagement and efficiency. Despite these advances, challenges remain, including uneven global access, the need to preserve human elements like inspiration and empathy in learning, and the ethical implications of AI use. UNESCO and other organizations emphasize frameworks that protect democratic values, data privacy, cultural diversity, and equitable access. Neurotechnologies, such as EEG devices and brain-computer interfaces, promise further personalization but raise concerns about mental privacy and cognitive autonomy. Overall, the integration of intelligent technologies in education must prioritize human connection, critical reflection, and ethical responsibility to truly enhance learning without replacing the essential human aspects of education.
How artificial intelligence and neurotechnologies are transforming education without losing the centrality of the individual
Education in the 21st century can no longer be imagined without technology. But beyond digital whiteboards and learning platforms, a deeper revolution is taking shape: that of
During the pandemic, the irruption of the call EdTech was dizzying and, as Alper Utku, founder of the European Leadership University and member of the Future Trends Forum Think Tank of the Bankinter Innovation Foundation, after that stage there can no longer be a return to normality. In fact, a new educational normality was installed based on flexibility, global accessibility and reduction of economic barriers.
The global EdTech market was estimated at $163,492.3 million in 2024, and is projected to reach $348,410.6 million by 2030. Startups and unicorns in the sector are booming, as shown by examples such as India’s Byju’s or Austria’s GoStudent. That said, it is not just about digitizing pedagogical processes, but about reimagining education as a flexible, inclusive, ethical and globally connected system.
Generative and adaptive AI: dig deeper, not replace
Generative AI, such as ChatGPT or Gemini, impressively expands our ability to produce texts, simulate conversations, and summarize information. On the other hand, tools such as Gradescope or Turnitin already allows you to automate corrections, free up teaching time and offer more immediate feedback. Others, such as Speechify or Bookshare, improve accessibility for students with special needs.
Adaptive AI – capable of adjusting content and rhythms to the student’s profile – is demonstrating concrete benefits in countries such as South Korea or Finland, where governments have implemented national strategies focused on reducing inequalities. In the U.S., companies like Duolingo or Khan Academy have popularized algorithms that adapt learning to individual progress. According to various In this study, adaptive systems can improve learning engagement and efficiency by 20% to 30%, shortening the time needed to master complex concepts.
However, as the report of TES (Times Educational Supplement, 2024), learning is not only efficiency: it is also inspiration, relationship, conflict, empathy. In addition, global adoption is uneven, with institutions in high-income countries using educational AI tools, while very few do so in low-income countries. This shows the urgency of policies that guarantee infrastructure, teacher training and equitable access.
In this regard, UNESCO underlines the need for frameworks that drive strong policies to preserve democratic values in education and has developed global guidelines for the integration of generative AI in education, promoting human-centred approaches, with data protection, inclusion and recognition of cultural diversity as primary axes.
Neurotechnologies: From Science Fiction to Sensitive Education
A new horizon opens up with neurotechnologies: devices that measure, stimulate or interpret brain activity to interact with digital systems. Technologies such as EEG headsets are being explored to measure brain activity in real time and adapt the educational environment according to levels of attention, stress or fatigue.
Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), used especially in biomedical fields, already allow paralyzed people to control robotic arms or recover lost motor functions through electrical stimulation, thanks to implants such as the Utah Array or Neuralink’s projects. International experts are exploring hybrid systems where generative AI and neural signals work in tandem to maximize the personalization of the training process.
Of course, there is always a reverse of the coin to watch out for, and these innovations raise profound questions about mental privacy, cognitive autonomy, and identity. For this reason, organizations such as the OECD or the Royal Society promote the recognition of Neurorights: Protection of neural privacy and cognitive integrity, anticipating possible abuses or discrimination.
On the other hand, the necessary AI literacy (AI Literacy) involves more than knowing how to use tools: it is a critical exercise that must include the construction of prompts, the validation of responses (fact-checking) and the reflection on errors and biases of the systems. In the United States, from elementary school to high school, collaborative curricula are being promoted that integrate ethics and data about AI, with metrics oriented to debate, not just technical mastery.
In addition, care must be taken that digital globalization does not homogenize cultures. Many algorithms are based on data in English and Western contexts, which can lead to cultural standardization that marginalizes other perspectives. Instead, diversity should be a central axis in the design of tools, content, and curricula.
Intelligent interfaces offer enormous potential to transform education. But their effectiveness will depend on how they are integrated into a pedagogy that maintains the centrality of the human bond, critical reflection and ethical commitment. Advanced technologies must serve the full development of each individual, not impose themselves as a substitute for what is essentially human in the act of educating.
