Building a Transnational Dialogue Platform: Wrap‑up of the “Ask the World · Vision‑Forward” AI & Education Initiative
Beijing, 21 October 2026
The inaugural “Ask the World · Vision‑Forward” event, hosted by the Association of Education and Technology (AET), drew to a close on 21 October at the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China.
This public‑welfare series kicked off online on 30 September and toured four schools over three weeks. It marks AET’s latest public‑benefit project, following the success of its “Oxbridge Students’ China Tour”. The programme features two strands: Ask the World, a youth‑focused student forum, and Vision‑Forward, a forum for practising educators. Fully non‑commercial, it runs entirely free of charge for participating schools and pupils, opening up greater opportunities for teachers and students to take part in international academic dialogue.
With this new initiative, AET has developed a distinct exchange model centred on student agency, scholarly input, and joint collaboration between schools and associations. It breaks away from the conventional format of one‑way expert lectures delivered to a passive audience. Instead, students are encouraged to pose live questions, so conversations start from their genuine curiosities and concerns. More than simply delivering guest lectures to young people, AET aims to foster an equal, two‑way cross‑cultural dialogue space. Within this setting, young people can voice authentic questions freely, hone their critical thinking and communication skills through direct exchanges with international academics, build poise when engaging with the wider world, and reflect on how technology, education and humanity intersect in our globally connected digital era.
Rapid advances in artificial intelligence are reshaping education across the globe. AI tools are now commonplace in schools, unlocking fresh learning possibilities while raising urgent educational questions for debate: how can young people identify AI‑generated online content? How can classroom teaching harness AI appropriately without losing its human‑centred core? These challenges resonate with educators worldwide, and they form the core rationale for choosing “Artificial Intelligence and Education” as the series theme. Through cross‑border conversation, AET seeks to bring together Chinese and global viewpoints to explore paths for learning, critical thought and personal growth in the digital age.
Professor Geoff Hayward — Vice‑President of the Association of Education and Technology, Life Fellow of Pembroke College, University of Cambridge, and Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University — led discussions with teachers and students across the four participating schools, exploring artificial intelligence and education.
In the Ask the World student sessions, discussion topics stemmed directly from questions raised by pupils themselves. Students put forward pressing real‑world questions to Professor Hayward, covering the development of independent thinking, online information literacy, and how AI might reshape future careers. In his open exchanges with young people, Professor Hayward noted that AI possesses no inherent emotions: “the machine does not care about you, nor about the children we teach.” He argued that simply installing computers and smart devices in classrooms does not constitute educational innovation; true educational transformation hinges on re‑designing learning practices. He also reminded young people that meaningful learning is never effortless, and acquiring real knowledge calls for consistent dedication.
The Vision‑Forward teacher sessions addressed real‑world pain‑points in day‑to‑day classroom practice. Teachers first worked in groups to unpack teaching challenges, compile their questions, and hold English‑language discussions with Professor Hayward. Their conversations centred on practical classroom dilemmas: if a student uses a large‑language model purely to generate an essay outline and writes the rest independently, should this count as academic dishonesty? Given that AI can solve mathematical problems in seconds, what educational value remains in working through problem‑solving manually? Are AI‑produced texts and images eroding established standards of quality within the humanities?
Professor Hayward explained the mechanics of large‑language models in accessible terms: fundamentally, they predict subsequent words through probabilistic analysis of massive online text datasets and hold no genuine comprehension of mathematics or subject content. Addressing the essay‑outline scenario, he observed that outlines are where arguments first take shape. If an AI produces the outline, the student misses the chance to formulate their own perspective — meaning appropriate boundaries will differ depending on learners’ developmental stages. On whether AI can supplant human aesthetic judgement, he commented that while AI can describe works of art, aesthetic evaluation remains an intrinsically human act. Drawing on his own teaching experience, he added that crafting effective prompts is far more than writing a single sentence. Prompts need careful construction and iterative refinement aligned with learning objectives, ensuring AI acts as a teaching aid rather than a labour‑saving shortcut.
On 30 September, Professor Geoff Hayward held an online interaction with students from Jincheng No. 1 Middle School.
On 19 October, Professor Geoff Hayward took part in a discussion with participating teachers at the High School Affiliated to Beijing Institute of Technology.
On 20 October, Professor Geoff Hayward responded to student questions at Beijing No. 57 Middle School.
On 21 October, Professor Geoff Hayward shared his perspectives during the Vision‑Forward forum held as part of AI Theme Week at the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China.
No definitive answers emerged from these conversations. Students, teachers and Professor Hayward explored openly the opportunities, risks and practical implementation of AI‑era education. For the Chinese educators and young people who took part, the event offered more than knowledge‑sharing: it was a genuine meeting of cross‑cultural ideas. Young people gained a global lens for understanding AI‑driven change, while serving teachers drew on cutting‑edge international educational insights to reflect on their own classroom practice.
As the organiser, the Association of Education and Technology has long championed inclusive educational exchange. It believes international dialogue ought not to be a privilege reserved for a small minority. This public‑benefit series was conceived to build an open, equitable, two‑way channel for dialogue between Chinese and global education communities, enabling teachers and students across China to engage directly with international scholars. Moving forward, AET will keep delivering similar public‑interest cross‑border exchange programmes. It aims to foster mutual learning between Chinese and international educational thought, and support young people to grow into a new generation equipped with independent critical judgement, humanistic awareness and the skills for global engagement.
