Wednesday 20 January 2027
07:45
Sir Anthony Seldon
AI in education: why we are stuck in the starting blocks and how to get out
Current Government policy priorities – on anything from vocational education reform, to recruiting more teachers, to halving the attainment gap – are all for naught without an appreciation of how AI changes the fundamentals of education. Education serves a wide range of purposes – it makes us human; it builds new generations of citizens; it teaches values and behaviours and creates and sustains society. We cannot arrest the rise of AI, but we can refocus our schools on human flourishing: developing uniquely human attributes which will maximise the opportunity of our young people to use AI well rather than to become overly dependent on or infantilised by it.
Current Government policy priorities – on anything from vocational education reform, to recruiting more teachers, to halving the attainment gap – are all for naught without an appreciation of how AI changes the fundamentals of education. Education serves a wide range of purposes – it makes us human; it builds new generations of citizens; it teaches values and behaviours and creates and sustains society. We cannot arrest the rise of AI, but we can refocus our schools on human flourishing: developing uniquely human attributes which will maximise the opportunity of our young people to use AI well rather than to become overly dependent on or infantilised by it.
Anthony is a leading contemporary historian, educationalist, commentator and political author. He was Master of Wellington College until 2015; Vice Chancellor of Buckingham University until 2020, Headmaster of Epsom College until 2024, before taking up his current role as the Founding Director of Wellington College Education. He is author or editor of over 40 books on contemporary history, politics and education, was the co-founder and first director of the Centre for Contemporary British History, is co-founder of Action for Happiness, and is honorary historical adviser to 10 Downing Street. In 2016 he published The Fourth Education Revolution, talking about how AI would radically impact education. This was followed in September 2026 by Britain’s Greatest Education Opportunity Ever, co-authored with Tim Bunting.
Author, educator, political historian and commentator.
Anthony is a leading contemporary historian, educationalist, commentator and political author. He was Master of Wellington College until 2015; Vice Chancellor of Buckingham University until 2020, Headmaster of Epsom College until 2024, before taking up his current role as the Founding Director of Wellington College Education. He is author or editor of over 40 books on contemporary history, politics and education, was the co-founder and first director of the Centre for Contemporary British History, is co-founder of Action for Happiness, and is honorary historical adviser to 10 Downing Street. In 2016 he published The Fourth Education Revolution, talking about how AI would radically impact education. This was followed in September 2026 by Britain’s Greatest Education Opportunity Ever, co-authored with Tim Bunting.