ALLS head Dr Maria Mercedes T Rodrigo advocates for culturally-responsive AI at K-EDU EXPO

At the International Education Forum, held during the K-EDU EXPO in Gyeongju, Republic of Korea, Maria Mercedes T Rodrigo PhD, Professor of Information Systems and Computer Science at Ateneo de Manila University and Head of the Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Sciences (ALLS), delivered a keynote address titled “Promoting Educational Equity through Culturally-Responsive AI” during the session “Thinking About Education.”

The session gathered global leaders in education and technology, including Isabelle Howe, CEO of the Stanford Learning Accelerator, who spoke on “The Role of Education in the AI Era”; Choi Yu-jin, CEO and Co-founder of Classum, who discussed “Developing Capabilities Using AI”; and Kim Joo-ho, Professor of Computer Science at KAIST, who presented “Growth Using AI.” A panel discussion chaired by Professor Chan Lee of Seoul National University examined how educators can strengthen human capabilities through AI while promoting collaboration, equity, and ethical responsibility.

In her keynote, Dr Rodrigo emphasized that AI in education must be grounded in culture—responsive to students’ lived experiences, classroom realities, and national contexts. Drawing from both global and Philippine examples, she illustrated how cultural factors influence the success of AI-based educational tools and how equitable design can empower under-resourced communities.

Dr Rodrigo’s participation underscored the Philippines’ growing leadership in advancing ethical, inclusive, and context-aware uses of AI to achieve educational equity across the Asia-Pacific region.

The K-EDU EXPO was hosted by the Gyeongsangbuk-do Office of Education and was an APEC 2025-affiliated event.

This article was produced with the assistance of ChatGPT and was reviewed by ALLS for correctness.