Nature spotlights HKUST(GZ)'s innovative Al-driven education!
Editor's note
On Dec 11, the globally renowned journal Nature featured in its Volume 648 an in-depth special report by Jackson RYAN, an award-winning Australian science journalist recognized as the country's "Best Science Journalist". The article explores the question of how artificial intelligence is reshaping higher education—from virtual instructors and personalized learning pathways to the emergence of "AI-first" universities—while astutely capturing the disruptive force and transformative potential this technological wave holds for tertiary education worldwide.
Placing the pioneering work of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) in "AI+Education" under the international spotlight, the piece highlights the innovative use of "digital avatar teachers" by a team led by Professor Pan HUI, Chair Professor of the Computational Media and Arts (CMA) Thrust at HKUST(GZ). It positions this experiment as a valuable reference for envisioning the future of education in an AI-driven era.
Professor Pan HUI and his team go beyond the mere introduction of technological tools. Their approach is fundamentally learner-centered, delivering personalized and adaptive instruction that accommodates individual learning styles. In doing so, they provide a contemporary technological pathway to realize the ancient Chinese educational philosophy of "teaching students according to their aptitude". This innovative practice marks a shift in China's role in educational innovation, from a participant to that of a key contributor and thought leader.
Here is the full text of the report:
References
1. Pang, C. C. et al. Preprint at arXiv https://doi. org/10.48550/arXiv.2410.03525 (2024).
2. Leong, J. et al. in Proc. 2024 CHI Conf. Hum. Factor. Comput. Syst.
https://doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642393 (2024).
3. Dang, H., Benharrak, K., Lehmann, F. & Buschek, D. Preprint at arXiv
https://doi.org/10.48550/ arXiv.2208.09323 (2022).
4. Fisher, J. et al. in Proc. 63rd Annu. Meet. Assoc. Comput. Linguist. Vol. 1, 6559–6607 (ACL, 2025).
5. Lee, H.-P. et al. in Proc. 2025 CHI Conf. Hum. Factor. Comput. Syst.
https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3713778 (2025).
PDF链接：
Degree of change：From lectures by avatars to entire qualifications, AI is coming for higher education.
https://media.nature.com/original/magazine-assets/d41586-025-03950-4/d41586-025-03950-4.pdf
官网链接：
What would an AI university look like and how might it change education?