This Guidance aims to support the planning of appropriate regulations, policies and human capacity development programmes to ensure that generative arti cial intelligence (GenAI) becomes a tool that genuinely bene ts and empowers teachers, learners and researchers. It explains the AI techniques used by GenAI and maps out a list of GPT models that are made publicly available, especially those under open-source licences. It also opens a discussion on the emergence of EdGPT – GenAI models that are trained with speci c data to serve educational purposes. Furthermore, it summarizes some of the key controversies around GenAI, from worsening digital poverty to the homogenization of opinions, and from deeper deepfakes to issues of copyright. Based on a humanistic vision, the Guidance proposes key steps for the regulation of GenAI tools, including mandating the protection of data privacy and setting an age limit for independent conversations with GenAI platforms. To guide the proper use of the tools in education and research, this Guidance proposes a human-agent and age-appropriate approach to the ethical validation and pedagogical design processes.

Publicly available generative AI (GenAI) tools are rapidly emerging, and the release of iterative versions is outpacing the adaptation of national regulatory frameworks. The absence of national regulations on GenAI in most countries leaves the data privacy of users unprotected and educational institutions largely unprepared to validate the tools. UNESCO’s first global guidance on GenAI in education aims to support countries to implement immediate actions, plan long-term policies and develop human capacity to ensure a human-centred vision of these new technologies. The guidance presents an assessment of potential risks GenAI could pose to core humanistic values that promote human agency, inclusion, equity, gender equality, linguistic and cultural diversities, as well as plural opinions and expressions. It proposes key steps for governmental agencies to regulate the use of GenAI including mandating the protection of data privacy and considering an age limit for their use. It outlines requirements for GenAI providers to enable their ethical and effective use in education.The guidance stresses the need for educational institutions to validate GenAI systems on their ethical and pedagogical appropriateness for education. It calls on the international community to reflect on their long-term implications for knowledge, teaching, learning and assessment. The publication offers concrete recommendations for policy-makers and education institutions on how the uses of GenAI tools can be designed to protect human agency and genuinely benefit students, teachers and researchers. Towards a human-centered approach to the use of generative AIWhile ChatGPTreached monthly active users in January 2023, only one country has released regulation on generative Aiin July100 million