Jack Ma Calls for Rural Education Reform in AI Era
- tech360.tv
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma recently urged a fundamental shift in China’s rural education system. He said the artificial intelligence era requires moving away from rote learning to fostering curiosity and creativity in students.
Ma, a former English teacher, noted the AI era presents a challenge but also an opportunity to revisit education’s core principles. He made these remarks in a meeting with rural teachers, with his comments later published by the Jack Ma Foundation.
Ma conveyed to teachers that the primary concern is not whether to use AI, but how to effectively teach children to utilise it. He stressed that education should no longer focus on children competing with AI in areas such as calculation and memory.
Instead, Ma advocated for helping children maintain their curiosity, describing it as the source of computational power. He had previously stated that AI would reshape the world over the next decade.
Since 2015, Ma has convened annually with 100 new recruits to his foundation’s Rural Teachers Initiative. This programme identifies promising rural teachers nationwide, offering them financial support and professional training.
His recent commentary on AI's impact on rural education addressed concerns raised by this year’s recruits. They feared the rural education system might be left behind in the evolving AI landscape.
Ma was quoted by the foundation as saying the true disparity in the AI era is not technological. He identified it as a gap in curiosity, imagination, creativity, judgment, and collaboration.
He also said the education system should not aim for thousands of students to produce the same correct answer. Instead, it should teach students to ask myriad different, valuable questions.
Ma’s observations mark the third time in the past year he has acknowledged AI’s transformative capabilities. Earlier in the year, he spoke at an Alibaba Cloud event, stating that technologists are responsible for developing AI systems that serve humanity rather than replace people.
The Alibaba Foundation, along with the consumer application Qwen, supports the Rural Teachers Initiative; Alibaba Cloud is the AI and cloud computing services arm of Hangzhou-based Alibaba. The Alibaba Foundation and the consumer application Qwen are also listed as supporters.
The Jack Ma Foundation and Qwen recently donated AI devices, including Alibaba’s new Quark AI glasses. These were given to a rural school in Yibin, Sichuan province, to promote AI familiarity among students.
Ma has maintained a low profile since stepping down from his corporate positions at Alibaba, though he remains the company’s largest single shareholder. His latest statements align with other Chinese AI firms’ warnings about AI’s societal impact.
Government authorities are preparing a dedicated policy document to address AI’s likely influence on employment, as reported by Xinhua News Agency. DeepSeek senior researcher Chen Deli previously warned that AI developers aim to completely replace human labour, despite potential destabilising effects.
Jack Ma advocates for China's rural education to foster curiosity and creativity, moving away from rote learning.
Ma believes the AI era's challenge is how to teach children to use AI effectively, not to compete with it.
The Jack Ma Foundation’s Rural Teachers Initiative supports promising educators with financial aid and professional training.
Source: SCMP
