Panmure House Debates

As AI transforms how we learn, teach, and think — what is the future of education?

We turn our attention to the classroom, the lecture hall, and the lifelong learner. From personalised learning algorithms to AI tutors and automated assessment, the education sector is undergoing a profound shift. But with these advances come urgent questions about equity, ethics, and the role of human educators.

This event brings together educators, technologists, philosophers, and policymakers to ask:

• Can AI enhance human learning — or does it risk diminishing it?
• How do we prepare students for a world where knowledge is abundant but wisdom is scarce?
• What values should guide the integration of AI into our educational systems?

Panel:

Professor Andrew Manches - Professor of Children at the University of Edinburgh

Dr Megan Crawford - Lecturer in Management & Strategy at Edinburgh Napier University, Business School

Moderated by:

Dr Thusha Rajendran - Professor of Developmental Psychology, Heriot-Watt University and member of the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics

Audience participation via polls and live Q&A encouraged.

As AI reshapes the global economy, how will it redefine the nature of work?

We explore the profound implications of AI on employment, productivity, and the human experience of labour. From automation and job displacement to the emergence of new industries and ethical dilemmas, this debate will examine how societies can adapt to — and shape — the future of work in an age of intelligent machines.

We bring together leading voices from technology, academia, economics, policy, and philosophy to ask:

• What does meaningful work look like in the age of AI?
• Who benefits — and who might be left behind?
• How can we ensure that innovation serves the common good?

Panel:

Luke McKinney - Director of Consulting at Nile HQ, a strategic design firm helping regulated industries adopt human-ready AI by balancing user and business needs; award-winning innovation designer and lecturer at The Glasgow School of Art

Dr Cailean Gallagher -

Cailean Gallagher is an Associate Lecturer at University of St Andrews Business School, researching the history of economics and the future of work. He is a trade union organiser supporting workers in precarious work and the gig economy, including through the Workers' Observatory. He co-wrote a report on artificial intelligence and platform workers' rights as part of a Policy Fellowship supported by AHRC and DCMS's R&D Unit on AI. He edits the Scottish Left Review, whose recent 'Cutting Wires' issue addressed the impact of AI.

Moderated by:

Dr Lucia Blaha - Assistant Professor in Business Management and Intelligent Automation at Heriot-Watt University School of Social Sciences

Audience participation via polls and live Q&A encouraged.