Beyond Tools: Thinking about AI, Education, and our Humanity

By Nabila Nindya Alifia Putri

2025 is just around the corner to close its chapter, and on the fourth week of November was truly an unforgottable moment that I will always cherish in my life, at least after I graduated. On the 28th of November, 2025, I got a fruitful opportunity as a panelist at the ACE Online Conference. Academically and personally speaking, the session, “Human–AI Partnership in Teacher Education: Rethinking the Hybrid Teacher of the Future,” challenged me to articulate my research in a broader, global conversation about the future of teaching. The issues explored in the session resonated strongly with the findings of my master’s thesis, which I incorporated into the discussion.

During the panel session, I got asked a question. It was about the ways in which cultural, societal, and contextual aspects influence the way students respond to AI, which led me to reconsider my own research results in a new perspective. My research has demonstrated that there is great cultural focus on academic integrity within the Indonesian schools whereby teachers are expected to adhere to moral standards during the learning process. It also emphasizes the excessive dependence of teachers on community-based and informal learning instead of institutional training and the contextual fact that AI systems do not frequently support local curricula, language standards, and daily learning processes. It taught me that the problems I noticed during my fieldwork are not just technical or practical issues, as there were issues about academic integrity or a lack of infrastructure. Instead they are indicative of deeper questions of what we are as a society, the way we value relationships in the learning process, and how we negotiate change.

As I reflect further upon writing this reflection, these insights feel even more relevant in light of recent ecological disasters across Indonesia, particularly in Sumatra and parts of Java—events that are, in many ways, are consequences of human actions. The process of this happening brought back to me that education is never solely about mastering content or learning to use technology, but it is also about molding conscience, responsibility, and care. This lowkey gave me a silent hope that someday AI would not only be incorporated into the process of learning due to ease or effectiveness. I wish to believe that with the development of AI, we will be able to use AI to teach what really matters as well as our connection with the environment. Perhaps, we can have such simulations one day with the help of AI, or a virtual reality (VR) experience that lets students observe the life cycle of trees, the sensitivity of ecosystems, or the effects of environmental destruction. It is only a hope, which is a possibility in the future, but I was left convinced by this panel that it is a part of our job as educators to make ourselves believe that such possibilities exist.

Speaking in front of a global audience was not only challenging but also empowering. I needed to express myself, answer on the spot, and present the Indonesian context in a positive manner. At one point, the discussion was flowing smoothly that I encountered a sense of connectedness, not just to the panelists, but to the whole audience who cared about the future of education. It made me remember again on why I decided to pursue this field. In general, this experience taught me that insights from local contexts bear a great, yet universal importance. Personally, I also became developed. I learned that:

  • I am able to address myself confidently, especially in global contexts,
  • my research bears depth and relevance beyond local context.

What I take from this experience is a renewed sense of purpose. It further intensified my desire to investigate the problem of AI literacy, teacher identity, and educational ethics, yet also helped me to remember the larger mission of education itself. The panel session gave me a reality to be more grateful, solid, and hopeful person who has much to do in a world where technology and humanity develop in mutual communion, not only in order to be efficient, but in order to be caring, thoughtful and understanding of our world. And in most respects, this vision is also consistent with what I have studied during my masters study in the Faculty of Education at UIII: a place which has helped me to consistently think of education as a transformative power based on ethics, justice, responsibility to the society, and the environment.

Lastly, let’s take a moment to give our thoughts and prayers of our brothers and sisters affected by disasters in Sumatra, Java, and other places affected by disasters in Indonesia. May we always be given strength and fortitude to get through everything.