Zhu Xinyu, Deputy Director of the Institute of Education Statistics and Analysis at the China National Academy of Educational Sciences, delivered a keynote speech titled "Where Is Digital Education Headed in the Age of AI?" at the parallel session on "AI Education Development and Evaluation" during the 2026 World Digital Education Conference.

Based on three consecutive years of GDEI monitoring and evaluation, he conducted a mixed-method analysis (quantitative and qualitative) of the leading countries in global digital education. He found that although each country’s path to digital education development has its own characteristics, a number of common evolutionary trends have emerged as they progress from the resource-sharing stage to the AI-integration stage.

From the perspective of strategic focus, countries have generally moved from infrastructure construction and resource sharing, towards the comprehensive transformation of the education system, and then towards the remodelling of the education ecosystem. In terms of practical measures, they have progressed from basic project implementation to drive changes in the education environment, then to system reconstruction driven by data-based development, and then to transformative innovation through deep integration of AI and education. In terms of educational philosophy, a gradual shift can be observed: from technology-assisted educational improvement, to data-driven educational transformation, and then to human-centred, personalised education. 

Finally, he pointed out that faced with this trend, no matter which development path countries choose, they must return to the fundamental question: what kind of people should be cultivated in the age of AI? Education in the age of AI must equip everyone with the ability to use technology properly, and even more importantly, it must equip everyone with the wisdom to transcend technology. Only by doing so can we truly achieve the comprehensive development of every individual.