The UN University (UNU) and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC) launched “a transdisciplinary collaborative platform to build a knowledge base on the current trends, opportunities and risks that AI poses to higher education through the lens of sustainable development.”
The Higher Education for Sustainability Initiative (HESI) Action Group on Futures of Higher Education and Artificial Intelligence brings together the academic community and UN agencies to develop “evidence-based and research-oriented recommendations and global guidelines for maximizing the potential of AI in achieving [a] sustainable future while closely scrutinizing the impact of AI [on the] environment, employability and human rights.” The goal of the Action Group is to establish a mechanism to foster synergies among key stakeholders in the fields of higher education, sustainability, and AI, including the UNU AI Network, UNESCO, UN Academic Impact, Academic Council on the UN Systems, Global Digital Compact, and other Actions Groups of HESI.
The concept note for the Action Group highlights the impacts generative AI applications are having on the higher education sector, noting that the “rapid advancement of AI questions the long-term relevance of what schools are teaching today, compelling the higher education sector to reevaluate teaching, learning, research, engagement, and management and administration.” Yet fewer than 10% of schools and universities have institutional policies and guidance in place concerning the use of generative AI.
Against the backdrop of “stagnant” progress towards the SDGs, the concept note stresses the need for “a fundamental shift and groundbreaking innovation to put sustainable development back on track.”
Highlighting the crucial role higher education institutions can play in harnessing the potential of AI in accelerating sustainable development while mitigating its harms, the concept note outlines the need to ensure: inclusive access to AI for all learners without widening technological divides and compromising data security; innovative use of AI to tackle challenges towards achieving a sustainable society; and ethical development of AI with the human rights at its core principle.
The Action Group has the following priority areas and objectives:
- Transformative teaching and learning;
- Transformative research and development (R&D);
- Transformative community and industry engagement;
- Transformative institutional management and administration; and
- Ethics, safety, and inclusivity.
Its provisional main activities include research, outreach, and member engagement.
The Action Group was launched on 11 July 2024 during the Special Event on Transforming Education, convened during the 2024 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). [UNESCO News Story] [UNU News Story]