The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has sparked global discussions, particularly in higher education. Are robots coming for our jobs? Will AI erode academic integrity? According to Dr. Julie Lindsay and Associate Professor Lisa Jacka from the University of Southern Queensland, we’re asking the wrong question.
In their keynote address, “Reimagining learning in an AI empowered world,” presented at the 7th International Conference on Educational Science in Industry Era 5.0 (ICONSEIR) 2025, they proposed a powerful reframing: “We keep asking, ‘Will AI replace humans?’ when we should be asking, ‘How will AI help us become more human?’”.
This perspective challenges educators to move past the “fear factor” and consider how this disruptive force can be leveraged to transform teaching and learning in previously unimagined ways.
This video was created by Notebook LM based on the slides and audio file of the keynote. 5.0 (Iconseir), Indonesia.
Reframing the Conversation: A Rose by Any Other Name
The speakers highlighted that the very label “AI” often triggers biases in higher education, obscuring the tools’ pedagogical benefits and educational innovation.
Dr. Lindsay suggested that if we called AI something else—like “collective intelligence”—we might relate to it in a different way. Regardless of the terminology, AI is here to stay, and the challenge lies in cultivating human-centered and personalized learning experiences.
The goal of integrating AI is fundamentally focused on improving the student experience. Done correctly, AI can lead to improvements across eight crucial areas: learning outcomes, engagement, accessibility, feedback, guidance, support, creativity, and collaboration—all of which lead to student success.
The Power of Personalisation and Support
One of the most meaningful applications of AI is personalized learning. AI has the capacity to respond to individual learners in a personal way. This can manifest through:
- Adaptive Feedback: Providing immediate feedback based on a learner’s performance and understanding.
- Intelligent Tutoring Systems: Simulating one-on-one tutoring with step-by-step guidance.
- Leveraging Learner Data: Utilizing AI-enhanced Learning Management Systems (LMS) to analyze assessments, pace, and preferences.
Beyond learning, AI provides personalised support, especially in accessibility. Tools like Goblin Tools (recommended by the presenters) offer free support features, converting text to speech, generating transcripts, and providing translation services. This capacity allows individuals to address their needs directly, breaking down traditional barriers to accessibility.
Chatbots vs. AI Agents: A New Collaborative Partner
A significant concept introduced was the difference between a chatbot and an AI agent. Dr. Lindsay offered a helpful analogy, defining a chatbot as a quick, efficient, and transactional interaction, like a vending machine. Conversely, an AI agent is able to recommend, customize, and engage emotionally, akin to a café barista. While a bot merely answers, an agent helps, collaborates, and co-creates.
The presenters shared examples of agents they have developed:
- Bridget: A facilitative chatbot used at a workshop to provide information on schedules and concepts, such as explaining a “moonshot pitch”.
- Explainer Ellie: Uses techniques like the Feynman technique to provide simple explanations and analogies.
- Contrary Connie: Designed to encourage constructive and critical discussion by offering mainstream and contrarian viewpoints.
The ultimate challenge, Dr. Lindsay noted, is to build an AI agent that becomes an equal learning partner in a global team.
Cosmogogy Learning Ecosystem
The Global Classroom: Learning With the World
This vision of AI collaboration leads directly to the concept of Cosmogogy. Defined as the method and practice of learning while connected to the world using digital technologies, cosmogogy emphasizes learning with rather than about the world.
This framework involves a “Human-AI-World” learning ecosystem where three dynamic interactions take place:
- Human-AI Partnership: Focuses on co-creation, adaptive learning, and ethical decision-making.
- Human-World Connection: Emphasizes global citizenship and cultural exchange.
- AI-World Interface: Enables real-time data analysis and predictive modeling.
The Cosmogogy Collaborative
To bring this concept of the Human-Ai-World framework to life, the Cosmogogy Collaborative pilot project is engaging global student teams (including partners in Germany, Brazil, Uganda, and Nigeria) in an 8-week program to tackle authentic sustainability challenges. The project utilizes an AI agent named Collaboration Cosmo, which acts as an equal team member, organizing, responding to discussions, performing translations, and maintaining continuous workflow across time zones.
Frameworks for Seamless Integration
To guide educators through AI integration, the presenters introduced the AI Pedagogy Project (AIPP). This framework was specifically developed to shift academics away from fear (“AI helping students cheat”) toward focusing on pedagogical practice. The AIPP has received significant external validation, having been recognized in the 2025 Educause Horizon Report Teaching and Learning Edition in the category of Faculty Development for Generative AI.
Practical approaches – AIPP
Cogniti Pilot: An Australian-developed tool that allows teachers to build custom chatbot agents with specific instructions and resources. Crucially, Cogniti provides a backend view where educators can see student-bot interactions, turning the tool into a strong analytical and feedback resource that still includes the teacher.
AI PowerUp: A public-facing resource designed to help students and staff learn the basics of AI and the university’s approach. This just-in-time resource includes four modules covering Foundations, Learning, Academic Writing, and Assessment, and uses AI-assisted video creation via Synthesia.
Cultivating Human Skills
In the discussion following the presentation, the speakers addressed the crucial skills students need to thrive in an AI-empowered world. To redesign the curriculum effectively, educators must promote the development of human skills that complement AI capabilities:
- Flexibility and Agility: Being resistant to technology “just doesn’t work anymore”. Both teachers and students need to be adaptable and ready to adopt new technologies.
- Collaboration: Learning how to collaborate effectively—including learning how to collaborate with AI—is vital.
- Creativity: AI can often bring out the creative side in people, allowing them to explore more than one way to approach a problem.
Critical Thinking and Questioning: To get the most out of AI agents, students must learn how to ask good questions. This skill development enhances critical thinking.
Ultimately, the final message is an encouragement to embrace AI. By focusing on pedagogy, building capacity, and prioritiSing curriculum integration and learner-centric assessment choices, institutions can use AI to reimagine what learning looks like for student success. The key is to leverage AI to relieve the “drudgery” and allow humans to focus on the high-level critical thinking, creativity, and collaborative work where human interaction brings the most joy and insight.
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