Education Leaders Chart Path for AI in Schools at Concordia Summit

At the Concordia Annual Summit on Sept. 23, leaders from the Walton Family Foundation, the Brookings Institution and the LEGO Foundation confronted an uncomfortable reality: three years into the AI revolution, most students and teachers are still figuring it out alone — and the data shows it's not going well. The panel laid out a framework for distinguishing helpful AI from harmful AI in classrooms, called on philanthropy to fund independent research, and argued that human relationships, not algorithms, remain the most important investment in education.

• Gallup data shows 4 in 10 Gen Z students feel unprepared for the future, with fewer than half attending school excited most days

• Brookings expert draws sharp line between AI that teaches and AI that does the work for students, warning schools against unstructured, general-purpose tools

• LEGO Foundation and Walton Family Foundation call on philanthropy to curate vetted AI tools and fund independent research as teachers report being overwhelmed

• Panelists argue strong real-world relationships reduce students' reliance on AI for emotional support, citing new research

• Leaders envision K-12 as a "vast possibility space" where AI handles admin tasks and teachers focus on human connection

Why it matters: If fewer than half of students are showing up to school excited to learn, the current education model is failing during the most consequential technology shift in a generation.