A Review of AI and Shaping the Future of Education: From Rote Instruction to Intelligent Personalization

The world has changed dramatically with the evolution and speed-up of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in the past few years – a change that impacts on many industries, and that has had a great influence on education. The traditional education system that included memorization with passive learning, minimal interaction and an attitude of “one size fits all” seems become less and less useful in digital age with new learner competences like critical thinking, creativity and adaptability. Thus, there is a growing interest in the application of AI to bring holistic transformation in education not only in the learning content and mode of delivery but also in the assessment processes resulting in the personalized learning path for each student com- prising his/her unique needs and potentials. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first review targeted at AI and education through the lens of theoretical and application research, which endeavours to expose the possibilities of AI to shape the future of education. As an illustration, the review by Singh et al., 2025 states AI based personalized tutoring, intelligent learning environment, data driven knowledge is transforming traditional education techniques. Along the same vein, a 2024 study by Ayeni & Al Hamad demonstrates how the adoption of AI in education transforms traditional pedalogies by enabling customized learning and enhancing student participation. As well as all of this, these are changes which are not just pedagogical; universities and education systems are wondering how to organize curriculum, assessment and resource to harness and not be harnessed by the potential of AI technologies.