AI and the Future of Education
A Global Two-Part Conference Series
Columbia University | Data Science Institute | The Alliance Program
New York City – Spring, 2026
Paris, FRA - Fall, 2026
Concept
Recent progress in artificial intelligence (AI) technology is transforming our lives and is progressively shaping our vision of the future. It will alter the way we work, the way we think, and the way we learn. AI is already impacting the world of education and is forcing us to re-think the fundamentals of teaching and learning. While many challenges lie ahead (from academic integrity and cheating to the risk that AI tools will increase inequalities), the introduction of AI can bring a wealth of benefits too: it can help customize learning and create individual feedback for students; it can force students to “up their game” and unleash their creative potential; it can help improve problem solving and critical thinking skills.
In this brave new world of AI and education, many questions remain, however: How do we ensure that AI technology does not replace intellectual effort, but becomes a partner in human thinking and creativity? What new skills will young people need in order to navigate this fast-changing AI environment? How do we redesign assignments that will challenge the minds of students? How do we redefine creativity and originality in the age of AI?
In order to tease out these questions, explore innovative solutions, and bring to bear new thinking on these issues from both sides of the Atlantic, the Alliance Program proposes to organize a series of two major “AI and the Future of Education” conferences. The first event will be held in New York in the Spring of 2026 and the second in Paris, in the Fall of 2026.
Themes the Conference aims to address include:
Building AI literacy in the higher education curriculum
Creating a framework for responsible use of AI and AI ethics
Re-affirming rules of academic integrity
Re-defining originality and creativity in academic work
Using AI to improve problem solving
Mobilizing AI to open new pathways and methodologies in social science and humanities research
Improving student collaboration
Creating interactive learning techniques
Re-thinking education standards, grading, and evaluation
Designing advanced assignment and assessment strategies
Harnessing AI to address inequalities
Each of the two events will bring together leading researchers from the Alliance community (Columbia University, Sciences Po, Ecole Polytechnique, and Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne), as well as practitioners and policy makers. These events will include a set of workshops and panels, as well as one public facing event.