What a wonderful session at the Festival of Education.

In my talk, AI as a Companion to Human Learning, I explored a theme that feels more urgent every week: how we can use AI to deepen learning, rather than quietly replace the thinking that learning depends on.

And yes, there is a certain irony in this.

Critical thinking in the age of AI can actually be supported by AI itself, but only when we design its use carefully. Not as an answer machine. Not as a shortcut. Not as a productivity layer that makes learners skip the hard part.

But as a companion that helps students question, structure, reflect, create and make their thinking visible.

That requires more than access to tools. It asks for didactic choices, good examples, shared language, safe infrastructure and practical best practices. During the session I shared several of those examples from our work with CivAI and EduGPT, both in schools and higher education.

A big thank you to the organisation for creating such a meaningful space for this conversation, to Valentina Devid for the invitation and warm guidance.

And of course, thank you for the beautiful location. That always helps the thinking a little too.

The presentation:

And if you are curious how to create AI Companions in an easy way, watch this knowledge clip (in Dutch):