In this new Scientist of the Month video, Paulina Segovia Candia interviews Professor Ig Ibert Bittencourt, a full professor at Universidade Federal de Alagoas in Brazil, psychologist, Harvard Graduate School of Education visiting scholar, and co-founder of AI.edu. His research bridges AI, psychology, and public policy to create ethical, equitable innovations for underserved communities across the Global South.

From tech dependency to unplugged equity

A core theme in his work is challenging the infrastructure-first mindset in educational technology. By analyzing 30 years of digital policies, he reveals it could take a century to close equity gaps in low-resource areas.
In this context, he introduces "AIED Unplugged," enabling AI benefits without devices or internet—such as photographing handwritten student work for teacher feedback—reaching nearly 1 million students across 20,000 Brazilian schools.

Well-being as essential to learning

He also explains "P-AIED" (Positive AI in Education), rethinking AI to nurture both learning and emotional thriving, never trading one for the other. In this way, his work addresses anxiety and depression in vulnerable settings, inspired by positive psychology pioneers like Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi.

No one-size-fits-all solutions

Bittencourt’s projects, like co-creating policies in São Sebastião—elevating a municipality from last to second in literacy rankings—prove context is everything. Start with local priorities (literacy, autism support, gifted students), recruit connected experts, and avoid top-down designs. His networks, like NEES (1,200 members) and a UNESCO chair, succeed by tackling real problems with clear milestones and teacher passion.

What this means for educators

Teachers are "heroic" with unmatched commitment; engage them through co-design to spark buy-in and rethink overload. Bittencourt urges ditching blame, prioritizing attitude, and testing iteratively: "We do not know the best way, but we can learn together."

We are honored to feature Professor Ig Ibert Bittencourt as our Scientist of the Month, recognizing his leadership in equitable, human-centered AI for global learning.