EdHeroes Global Forum 2026 to examine how AI is redesigning the architecture of learning

As artificial intelligence moves from being a classroom tool to becoming part of the infrastructure shaping education systems, the EdHeroes Global Forum 2026 will bring together educators, policymakers, researchers and technology leaders to examine what the next generation of learning could look like.

Artificial intelligence is increasingly finding its way into classrooms, universities and education systems around the world.

It is helping teachers develop lesson plans, giving students new ways to interact with learning materials, supporting personalised learning and changing how institutions think about assessment. But as the technology becomes more deeply embedded in education, a larger question is emerging: Is AI simply changing the tools used in education, or is it changing the architecture of learning itself?

That question will sit at the centre of the EdHeroes Global Forum 2026, scheduled for September 24 under the theme “AI and the Architecture of Future Learning.”

The online, free-to-attend forum is expected to bring together voices from technology companies, universities, multilateral organisations, education institutions and the wider education innovation ecosystem to explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping learning—and what should remain distinctly human in the process.

The forum comes at a moment when the conversation around AI in education is moving beyond whether schools and universities should use the technology.

The more difficult questions are increasingly about how AI should be integrated, what skills learners need, how teachers’ roles will evolve, how assessment can remain meaningful, who should govern AI systems in education and whether the technology will expand or deepen existing inequalities.

From AI tools to AI-shaped education systems

The central premise of this year’s forum is that AI is no longer merely a layer of technology sitting on top of existing education systems.

According to EdHeroes, the event will explore what happens when AI becomes part of the infrastructure underpinning education—potentially influencing everything from assessment and access to learning pathways and the ability of education systems to adapt.

That distinction matters.

The first wave of AI adoption in education has largely focused on individual tools: generative AI assistants, automated content creation, personalised tutoring platforms and systems that help teachers with administrative or instructional tasks.

But the deeper transformation could involve redesigning how learning itself is organised.

If AI can generate learning materials instantly, adapt explanations to individual students and provide feedback at scale, education systems may have to rethink what happens inside a classroom. If students can use AI to produce essays, solve problems and generate code, institutions may also need to reconsider what assessment is actually measuring.

And if AI increasingly participates in decisions about what students learn and how they learn it, questions of governance, transparency and human oversight become central rather than peripheral.

These are among the issues the EdHeroes forum is designed to bring together in a single global conversation.

Three tracks, one larger question

The September 24 programme is organised around three tracks.

The first, AI and the Future of Education, looks at the system-level implications of the technology. Sessions will explore topics including designing future learning systems beyond individual AI tools, the transition from education systems to “intelligent societies”, and AI governance and policy.

The second, Humanity, Ethics, and Human Development, focuses on questions that technology alone cannot answer.

The programme includes discussions around human agency and cognition, teacher-AI partnerships, responsible AI use, human flourishing and equity in AI-driven education.

The third track, Practical Applications and Implementation, shifts the discussion towards what AI adoption actually looks like in learning environments.

Its sessions include assessment and credentials after generative AI, practical AI applications in real learning environments, and simple AI tools for teachers and students.

Taken together, the three tracks reflect a broader shift in the education sector’s AI conversation: from technology demonstrations towards questions of systems, people, practice and purpose.

Bringing technology, policy and education into the same conversation

One of the distinctive features of the forum is the range of institutions represented in its programme.

The event is expected to feature voices from organisations including Microsoft, Coursera, Minecraft Education, the World Bank, UNESCO and universities and education organisations working across different parts of the global education ecosystem. An event listing also identifies speakers and representatives connected to organisations including AWS, Stanford and Arizona State University.

That cross-sector mix is significant because the implications of AI in education do not sit within one institution or profession.

Technology companies are developing the systems and tools.

Teachers and school leaders have to determine whether and how those systems work in real classrooms.

Researchers are studying their effects on learning.

Policymakers are being asked to develop rules around privacy, safety, access and responsible use.

And students are ultimately the people who will learn, work and live in societies increasingly shaped by AI.

The forum’s organisers describe the event as bringing together educators and academic leaders, policymakers and public-sector representatives, EdTech founders and innovators, researchers and learning designers, school and university decision-makers, as well as students and other future-focused changemakers.

What happens to teachers when AI enters the classroom?

One of the most consequential questions in the AI-and-education debate concerns the role of teachers.

The emerging model is not necessarily one in which AI replaces teachers. Instead, much of the current discussion is centred on what a productive teacher-AI partnership could look like.

Minecraft Education, for example, has developed AI literacy resources that introduce students to concepts such as how AI works, recognising AI in everyday life, evaluating AI-generated content and using AI responsibly. Its resources also include tools intended to help educators incorporate AI into lesson planning and classroom practice.

This illustrates one of the tensions likely to run through the forum: AI literacy is increasingly becoming about more than knowing how to prompt a chatbot.

Learners need to understand what AI can and cannot do, recognise inaccurate outputs, question generated information and make responsible decisions about when and how to use AI.

For teachers, meanwhile, the challenge extends beyond learning another digital tool. It involves determining where AI genuinely improves learning, where human judgment remains essential and how technology can be incorporated without weakening the relationships and social dimensions that underpin education.

Assessment may be one of the biggest pressure points

Few areas of education have been disrupted as directly by generative AI as assessment.

If a student can ask an AI system to draft an essay, explain a mathematical problem, generate computer code or produce a presentation, traditional assignments may no longer provide the same evidence of individual understanding.

The EdHeroes programme explicitly addresses this challenge through a session on “Assessment, Credentials, and Trust After Generative AI.”

The question is larger than academic integrity.

Education systems use assessment to determine what learners know, what they can do and whether they are ready to progress. Employers and universities also depend on credentials as signals of capability.

As AI becomes increasingly capable of producing polished outputs, institutions may need to place greater emphasis on processes that reveal reasoning, application, collaboration, problem-solving and other capabilities that cannot easily be inferred from a finished product alone.

The forum’s inclusion of assessment alongside credentials and trust reflects the extent to which generative AI could force institutions to reconsider how learning is demonstrated and recognised.

The equity question cannot be separated from the AI question

AI also raises a fundamental issue for global education: who benefits?

Access to AI-enabled learning is unlikely to be evenly distributed. Differences in connectivity, devices, electricity, digital skills, language representation, teacher capacity and institutional readiness can all influence who is able to benefit from the technology.

The EdHeroes programme therefore includes a dedicated focus on equity and public interest in AI-driven education.

This is particularly relevant for education systems in low- and middle-income countries, where policymakers are already confronting longstanding challenges around access and learning outcomes while simultaneously being asked to prepare for an AI-driven economy.

The question for these systems may not simply be whether they can adopt the newest AI tools.

It may be whether AI can be deployed in ways that address existing educational challenges without creating new layers of exclusion.

That tension is also visible in the work of organisations such as the World Bank, which has been examining how education and skills systems can respond to the opportunities and risks created by AI. Its 2026 Global EdTech Policy Academy, for example, focused on moving from AI policy discussions towards practical implementation, including questions of system readiness, governance, financing, teacher development, assessment, delivery and equity.

Beyond the hype

The language surrounding AI in education can sometimes be dominated by predictions—about automated teachers, personalised learning at unprecedented scale or the transformation of universities.

The EdHeroes programme appears to take a somewhat broader approach by placing technological possibility alongside questions of human development, governance and implementation.

Some of the sessions announced for the forum illustrate the breadth of that conversation.

They include discussions about AI companions and social development, whether universities will still matter in an AI-driven future, AI governance, personalised learning, neurodiversity and the risks of AI getting important human differences wrong.

That range matters because there is no single “AI in education” question.

The technology affects different learners differently. It creates different opportunities and risks at different levels of education. And its consequences depend heavily on the policies, institutions and people surrounding it.

A global conversation accessible from anywhere

The forum will be held entirely online and is free to attend.

To accommodate participants across different regions, the programme will be broadcast twice on September 24, with one stream beginning at 5:00 a.m. UTC and another at 5:00 p.m. UTC. EdHeroes says the two streams are designed to make the event accessible across major time zones, particularly Asia, Oceania, Europe and the Americas.

Participants who watch at least three sessions are also eligible for a Certificate of Participation, according to the event information.

The online format is consistent with EdHeroes’ broader approach to its Global Forum. The organisation describes the forum as an annual global online gathering connecting educators, policymakers, innovators and organisations around education, social impact, equity and sustainable development.

Why the conversation matters now

The significance of the September 24 forum may ultimately lie less in any individual AI tool discussed and more in the questions it places before education leaders.

• If AI can personalise learning, what should personalisation look like?
• If AI can generate content, what should students still be expected to create themselves?
• If AI can provide instant feedback, what is the role of the teacher?
• If AI can influence educational decisions, who should govern those decisions?

And if access to powerful AI systems becomes another determinant of educational opportunity, how can education systems prevent the technology from widening existing inequalities?

These questions are no longer hypothetical for many education systems.

The World Bank, for instance, is already supporting policy discussions around AI implementation in education and skills, while platforms such as Minecraft Education are developing AI literacy resources for students and teachers.

The emerging challenge is therefore not simply to put AI into education.

It is to decide what kind of education should emerge when AI becomes part of its underlying architecture.

That is the conversation the EdHeroes Global Forum 2026 will attempt to bring into focus on September 24.

The forum is free and online. Education leaders, teachers, researchers, policymakers, EdTech practitioners and others interested in the future of learning can register through the EdHeroes Global Forum website

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