Technology, Equity and Equality in Education

The Paradox in Education

If the future of education offers teachers, books, conversation, and critical thinking for some, and algorithms, robots, and screens for others, technology will not have closed educational gaps - it will have institutionalized them.

By Maria Mercedes Mateo-Berganza Diaz

Teachers and books for the rich, robots and screens for the poor?

When we talk about technology for education we think of tablets, laptops, robots or interactive platforms with which children learn new (coding) or traditional skills (mathematics) better or faster.

Raised like this, it seems inevitable to imagine that students or higher income schools have the most access to this type of resources.  But, what would happen if access to technology in the coming years is not a privilege, but the cheapest way to access educational services?

Thus began an article recently published in The New York Times: "Hypocrisy thrives at the Waldorf School of the Peninsula in the heart of Silicon Valley.  This is where Google executives send their children to learn how to knit, write with chalk on blackboards, practice new words by playing catch with a beanbag and fractions by cutting up quesadillas and apples.  There are no screens — not a single piece of interactive, multimedia, educational content. The kids don’t even take standardized tests(...)".

Surprising, isn’t it?

Latin America and the Caribbean is investing more and more in technological equipment and digital resources to close the skills gap in the labor market and the learning gap between high and low income students.

By contrasting these efforts with the New York Times description of how the most privileged learn, it is worth wondering whether technology, after all, could potentially increase inequality in skills and learning.

The lessons that matter the most

One of the core objectives of education systems is to promote learning that prepares children and youth not only for the labor market, but also to contribute to create more prosperous societies.  It is known that to access good jobs, a combination of technical skills and soft skills is required.  This is nothing new.  What is changing is the relative distribution of both.  Although cognitive skills are still strongly related to results in the labor market (in terms of participation and income), their importance has been falling in the last two decades, while returns to soft skills have been increasing.

This trend is not accidental: to survive in the world of automation, it is a priority to teach young people what machines cannot do, because jobs that require imagination, creativity and strategy are more difficult to computerize.

An interesting fact comes from a study conducted by Google in 2013 to understand if their recruitment strategy focused on "hard skills" in computer science was appropriate.  The results showed an uncomfortable reality: seven of the eight most important qualities shared by the highest-performing employees were soft skills such as being a good coach, communicating and listening well, knowing their colleagues well, empathy, critical thinking, problem solving, and connecting complex ideas.  The technical competences in STEM fields came in last.   

Learning while knitting: something more than a trend

Faced with this boom of soft skills, learning to knit, write with chalk or practice new words while playing with balls are activities that go beyond a Silicon Valley fashion.

This type of education becomes a strategy to innovate, as the article in the New York Times said: "While Silicon Valley's raison d'être is to create platforms, applications and algorithms to generate maximum efficiency in life and work (a "frictionless" world, as Bill Gates once put it), when it comes to their own families (and also developing their own businesses), the new masters of the universe have a different sense of what it takes to learn and to innovate: it is a slow and indirect process, it is necessary to meander, not run, allow failure and chance, even boredom."

To close the skills gap in the region, we cannot forget the fundamentals behind this approach, but without losing sight of the fact that technological change comes at a galloping pace and offers new possibilities for children and young people.

The New Frontier of Educational Inequality

Today, the question that opens this article is no longer a simple provocation.  The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence—capable of teaching, assessing, providing feedback, and personalizing learning at scale and at very low cost—is redefining what we mean by education and how it is delivered.

Educational technology is increasingly emerging as the most affordable and scalable way to provide educational services, especially in contexts marked by teacher shortages and limited resources.  Automated tutoring, adaptive platforms, and AI-based assistants promise to expand access and close learning gaps.  Yet this same promise carries a profound risk: that machine-mediated education becomes the norm for lower-income students, while more privileged settings continue to invest in deeply human educational experiences—rich in teachers, dialogue, critical thinking, art, philosophy, and time to learn without haste.

The paradox becomes clearer: the more sophisticated the technology, the greater the value of what is human.  And that value is not distributed automatically or equitably.  In a world where algorithms can deliver content, practice skills, and optimize learning pathways, the central question is no longer whether to use technology.  The question is what kind of learning we reserve for whom.  If technology is used to replace—rather than complement or enhance—the pedagogical relationship with teachers, vulnerable contexts risk drifting toward an even more stratified education system: automation for some, humanity for others.

The real challenge, then, is not to incorporate more devices, but to clearly define which learning experiences are non-negotiable for all.  Educational innovation is not about cutting costs through screens, but about ensuring that technology amplifies—rather than substitutes—what makes learning profoundly human.

Because if the future of education offers teachers, books, conversation, and critical thinking for some, and algorithms, robots, and screens for others, technology will not have closed educational gaps—it will have institutionalized them.

Learning to learn again in the age of AI

In April 2025, the IDB released AI and Education: Building the Future Through Digital Transformation, a report that examines the role of artificial intelligence through the lens of what we already know from decades of digital education.

We invite you to explore the IDB’s latest report on Artificial Intelligence and Education, and discover how teachers across Latin America and the Caribbean are already integrating AI into their classrooms — based on new data from CIMA Note #37, drawn from the international TALIS 2024 survey. 

Source / Comment

Awakened to the new geopolitical agenda in the Caribbean

The dawn of a new geopolitical agenda in the Caribbean region

Deo Adjuvante, Non Timendum

“With God as My Helper, I Have Nothing to Fear”

The Bombastic geopolitical politics of the region 

Dr. Kevin J Turnquest-Alcena
Nassau, N.P., The Bahamas

As we sit and meditate in The Bahamas, our region is waking up to a new geopolitical agenda.  Guyana is heading to the polls on the first of the month, Jamaica follows with its general election on the third, and Venezuela shows signs of anxiety and paranoia.  We must be mindful of one fact: America will not invade Venezuela.  Instead, we must learn to recognize the art of propaganda and the craft of deceit.  These two forces dance like partners in a Machiavellian tango.

Brazil sits quietly, watching as the wider region anticipates a shift in direction.  This is the complexity of our world: nations caught between hope and manipulation, where the ambitions of men can easily pull us into conflict.  And when that conflict erupts, history reminds us there are no heroes, only survivors.

“The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.” — Sun Tzu

We must understand that the strength of a nation lies not in war, but in the wisdom to avoid it.  We should reflect deeply on the lessons of Vietnam and Afghanistan, where decades of bloodshed proved that there are no true winners in wars of intimidation.

Point One: The Role of Regional Unity

One of the greatest weaknesses of the Caribbean has been its fragmentation.  Each island often pursues its own agenda while outside powers exploit division.  The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was designed to strengthen cooperation, yet its voice is too often muted on global stages.  If we fail to speak as one, we risk being manipulated as many small pieces rather than one strong collective.

“Unity is strength… when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” — Mattie Stepanek

Point Two: The Economic Battlefield

Geopolitics is not only about armies.  It is also about economics.  Foreign powers use loans, trade deals, and aid packages as weapons of influence.  The region must be careful not to trade independence for short-term financial relief.  Debt diplomacy is as dangerous as military occupation because it shackles future generations to decisions made in desperation.

“It is not the creation of wealth that is wrong, but the love of money for its own sake.” — Margaret Thatcher

Point Three: The Importance of Youth and Education

The future of the Caribbean does not belong to the politicians of today but to the youth who will inherit tomorrow.  Education must prepare our young people not only for jobs, but for leadership, diplomacy, and critical thinking.  If our region fails to invest in its human capital, we will remain vulnerable to external manipulation.  A population that cannot think critically is easily swayed by propaganda.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” — Nelson Mandela

Point Four: Climate Change as a Political Weapon

The politics of the region cannot be separated from the reality of climate change.  Rising seas, stronger hurricanes, and environmental stress place small island nations at risk.  Wealthy countries make promises of aid and green funding, yet often use climate negotiations to exert influence over poorer nations.  For the Caribbean, survival itself is political, and climate change is now part of geopolitics.

“We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” — Native American Proverb

Point Five: Venezuela and the True Prize of Oil

At the center of much of this regional tension is Venezuela, a nation that sits on the largest proven oil reserves in the world.  This wealth of natural resources makes Venezuela a constant point of contention.  For decades, outside powers have eyed Venezuelan oil as if it were a prize for the taking.  Yet we must be clear: Venezuelan oil belongs to the Venezuelan people, not to Washington, Beijing, or any foreign capital.

Exiled Venezuelans who were driven away by political repression yearn to return home not only to reclaim democracy, but also to reclaim the oil wealth that rightfully belongs to them and their children.  Oil should be a national inheritance that lifts Venezuelans out of poverty, not a bargaining chip in global power games.  The true prize of Venezuela’s oil is the survival and prosperity of Venezuela itself.

“Natural resources should serve humanity, not dominate it.” — Wangari Maathai

Point Six: Security and Migration

Instability in one nation often spills into its neighbors.  The Caribbean has seen waves of migration from Venezuela and Haiti, placing pressure on small island states with limited resources.  This is not just a humanitarian challenge but also a political and security issue.  Increased migration fuels debates about border control, law enforcement, and social stability.  How the region responds will determine whether it embraces compassion and order, or allows chaos and division to spread.

“Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

Point Seven: Macha Positioning and Geopolitical Posture

Another layer of politics in the region is what can be called macha positioning.  This is the display of strength, the flexing of influence, and the posturing of nations without committing to open war.  Countries use military exercises, diplomatic statements, and economic alliances to show dominance and intimidate rivals.  It is a game of appearances, where leaders project toughness to secure leverage at the negotiation table.

The danger of macha positioning is that it can create unnecessary tensions.  Pride and image become more important than peace and cooperation.  History shows us that wars have often been sparked not by necessity, but by leaders refusing to lose face.  The Caribbean must be wise enough to avoid becoming a stage for these dangerous displays of bravado.

“It is not power that corrupts, but fear.  Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it.” — Aung San Suu Kyi

“More the knowledge, lesser the ego. Lesser the knowledge, more the ego.” — Albert Einstein

“War does not determine who is right, only who is left.” — Bertrand Russell

Conclusion

The Caribbean stands at a crossroads.  Its unity, economic independence, and the education of its youth are the pillars that will determine whether the region thrives or falters.  Climate change and migration test our resilience, while Venezuela’s oil reminds us that the true wealth of nations lies in the hands of their own people.

Macha positioning and external pressures challenge our ability to act with wisdom rather than ego.  To navigate this complex landscape, the Caribbean must prioritize cooperation over division, long-term vision over short-term gain, and vigilance over impulse.  Only by putting people first, respecting sovereignty, and embracing strategic patience can the region safeguard peace and prosperity for generations to come.

August 29, 2025

Source / Comment